Lilium Ignis
by StormySeaEyes
Summary: Nobody could have foreseen the Death Eaters rally. But times are changing for the worse, and Lily finds herself struggling with love, family, and what it means to fight for something you believe in.
1. Prologue

** Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling and her wonderful imagination.**

** A/N: Finally the Next Generation Fic I've been working on has begun! Check it out and let me know what you think**

Arthur Weasley stalked into the kitchen of the Burrow. He slammed the door behind him with an alarming bang, swearing profusely as he went. Leaning against the counter, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Across the room, his wife looked up from the table. "It's happening again," she said calmly. "Isn't it?" Arthur noticed that her mug covered a bit of the prophet. An image of a man with red eyes stared back, his nose splotched from where some of the tea had fallen.

"You can't believe everything you read in there," he said shortly, gesturing to the paper. "Most of it's rubbish."

Molly looked at where the prophet lay. Her eyes were rimmed with red. "Most of it," she whispered. "But not all of it. Arthur, look at me," she commanded, her voice wobbly. He met her eyes reluctantly. Raw fear and pain sparked within them, speaking truths to him that she could not say aloud. Arthur clutched the counter until his knuckles went white.

"Is he back?" she asked quietly. "If the prophet's true.." She trailed off, letting her words hit him like blows. Arthur winced. He crossed the room, coming to sit by her. Molly's hands traced circles on his knuckles.

"No, he's not back," he said finally. Molly let out a sigh of relief. "But," he continued tiredly, "his forces have not fallen."

Molly's eyes widened. "Do you mean- not the death eaters, surely?" she asked, her hands squeezing his. Arthur regarded her calmly.

"Yes," he said.

His wife went still. Her eyes, half-closed, flickered restlessly. "How many of them?" she asked. "How soon? Does Kingsley know? What does he plan to-"

"Molly," Arthur said, holding up his hand. "I don't know." He buried his head in his hands. "I don't know." he repeated, his voice muffled.

A hesitant hand touched his back. Fingers began to comb rhythmically through his grey hair. "The prophet's sending out warnings," Molly said softly. "It's just how it was before the war. It's starting again."

Arthur raised his head to look her in the eye. They were hard as steel. "We were younger then," he reminded her. "It will not be as easy this time around."

"We have more to lose," Molly said quietly.

He was reminded of similar words Kingsley had said to him as he had left the Minister's office. Arthur looked to Molly. "The more we have to lose," he repeated, "the more we have to love. And love is what won us the war last time."

Tears filled his wife's eyes. She wiped at them quickly, her sleeve damp from wet. "The grandchildren," she sniffled. "We need to warn them."

Arthur's back stiffened. He stood in one swift motion. "No," he said, shaking his head. "Absolutely not." His head had begun to spin and he steadied himself, one hand resting on the table. Molly stood up as well.

"Why wouldn't we?" she snapped. "They're old enough to know the truth now, Arthur. We would be doing them more harm than good if we kept this from them."

Arthur took a steady breath. He closed his eyes, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Molly," he said. "This isn't their war to fight."

"For Merlin's sake!" his wife burst out. "They're the same age as Ron and Ginny were! Lily's sixteen now, and so is Hugo. Louis is almost the same age as Fred was when he-"

She stopped, her entire face draining of blood. Arthur pushed her gently into a chair. She sat almost numbly, clasping her hands until they turned white. "I'm not saying that we should put them in the front lines of the battle," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I'm saying that they're old enough that they deserve to understand what's going on."

Her head was down, her eyes trained on her twiddling thumbs. Arthur stooped beside her. He lifted her chin gently so that she looked at him. "Tell me," he said. "Do you see a warrior when you look in Louis' eyes? In Hugo's?" He paused, retracting his hand. "These children are not hardened from battle. Not like the others were. They are as innocent as foals."

Molly's face had regained normal color. Her eyes swept his face, sharp and searching. "That doesn't change the fact that they need to know," she said firmly. "We don't have the right to withhold information from them."

Arthur shook his head. He stood slowly, picking up her cold coffee mug and bringing it to the sink. "No, we don't," he agreed. "That right falls to their parents." He watched as the soggy brown remnants swirled away, staining the sink. Molly's eyes burned holes through the back of his neck.

"If we raised our children right," she said, "they'll tell the grandchildren. They'll let them know." Arthur set the cup aside. He turned to face his wife again, his face drawn.

"We did not raise all of what is now our children," he reminded her. "You've heard Harry on the subject of the war. He never wants James, Albus or Lily to hear a word of it."

Molly chewed her lip. Her eyes were wide with surprise. "Surely he must understand that's impossible," she said. "With all the press that follows them around, Lily especially, there's not a chance that they haven't heard a word on it."

Arthur looked at his wrinkled hands. They were wet and red from the hot water of the sink. He was reminded of blood. "Harry grew up with the prophet following him," he said. "He'll have pulled every connection he has ever made to ensure that his children are safe from the news."

"But the other children attending Hogwarts," Molly pressed. "Surely they will have said something."

Arthur turned towards the blank spot on the wall where the clock had once been. His shoulders slumped wearily. "No one talks about the war today, Molly," he said. "Not even in the Ministry. No one wants to be reminded of all the loved ones that were lost."

A short silence fell. Arthur missed the constant, steady ticking of the clock. "I still think we should tell them," Molly said. "It's better coming from us than wherever else they might find out."

Arthur turned to face her. Molly was a small form on the chair, her arms and knees tucked into her. She looked vulnerable and child-like. "No," Arthur said firmly. "It's not up to us. If their parents don't want them to know, we won't tell them."

He walked towards the stairs tiredly, pausing only to look at a clock hidden in a drawer.

Eight hands pointed in the direction of Mortal Peril.

**A/N: Just a little bit to get you started... let me know what you think! Favourite quotes, anyone?**


	2. The Journey Begins

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling._

_ A/N: The first chapter is finally up! And trust me, it only gets more exciting and crazy plot-filled from here..._

Lily Potter strode briskly down the corridor, her shoes echoing off stone walls. A tell-tale flush had crept up the side of her neck. Pausing, she examined a nearby suit of armor critically before kicking it as hard as she could. Her ankle screamed in pain.

"Lily!" Albus called, hurrying towards her. "Bloody hell. Wait up."

The dark-haired boy made his way around the fallen suit of armor, nudging the metal aside with his foot. Lily whirled around to face her brother. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't bother," she spat, turning to go. Albus threw himself towards her, his hand grabbing firmly onto her shoulder. Lily narrowed her eyes. Her brother offered her an apologetic look.

"I know you're angry," he said quietly. "I am too. But honestly, Lil, Scorpius is like that sometimes. He didn't mean to upset you."

There was a hopeful glint in his eyes. Lily crossed her arms stubbornly, her throat stinging. She leaned into the wall for support. "Really?" she managed tightly. "So I suppose he reads articles about everyone in the Prophet aloud?"

She tossed her flaming hair behind her. Her dark eyes fixed on her brother's. Albus winced. "He was just playing around," he told her softly. "He didn't think."

Albus refused to meet her eyes. Lily felt a hot rush of anger surge through her. Her hand darted out, smacking her brother in the chest. "He didn't think?" she demanded viciously. "Albus, when does he ever think? Even he has the brain capacity to realize that reading the article aloud to the whole Slytherin common room was probably not the best idea."

Albus had a neutral expression. Lily wanted to smack it off his face. Her irritation rose. "It wasn't the whole common room," Albus corrected her calmly. "Just the seventh-year boys in our dorm. I was there, Lily," he reminded her. "If the prophet had said one bad thing about you, I would have been the first to knock it out of his hands."

He regarded her steadily. Lily turned to kick the wall again, feeling a stab of pain register in her toes. The sting helped to focus her. She took a steady breath. "It doesn't matter what the prophet says about me," she told him coolly. "It's the fact that they're writing about me in the first place. About all of us. Harry Potter's children," she said in disgust, shaking her head.

Lily brought her foot back to hit the wall again, harder this time. Albus stepped deftly in front of her. "Stop that," he commanded, gesturing to her foot. "Mum will have kittens if you break your toes."

His green eyes flicked to hers, unwavering as he stood. Lily frowned at him. "So will the prophet," she said pointedly. Albus straightened, his face tightening.

"It's not just you, you know," he told her evenly. "James and I have it easily as bad. Do you know what it's like to have everyone speculate regularly that you're proposing?" He shook his head. "I'm only seventeen! James can't even leave his flat for a stroll without twenty witches asking for a photo."

His voice had remained neutral, but an angry red had begun on his cheeks. Lily made an impatient sound. "Yes," she agreed. "I'm sure he must just hate having girls throw themselves at him. Honestly, Al."

Her brother's face softened. He slumped against the wall, raking a hand through his untidy hair. "I know it's difficult," he said shortly. "I would like nothing better than to be in the prophet for quidditch, or finding an antidote to veritaserum, or for winning WitchWeekly's Most Charming Smile Award." He gave her a dry smile. "But the fact remains that to the press, we are the children of a famous witch and wizard. That's all they see."

He closed his eyes briefly, rubbing at his temples. Lily fell against the opposite wall. Her eyes were burning as she looked down the corridor. "Then why would Scorpius read that article?" she asked hoarsely. "He's your best mate. I doubt you've kept your hatred of the press close to your heart."

She kept her gaze fixed firmly on a nearby portrait. A greasy, sallow faced man stared back at her. His looked at her down his hooked nose before turning to leave through the other frames. Albus gave her a tired look. "He doesn't understand, Lily," he said. "To be frank, I don't understand why the press is after dad either. How can you expect Scorpius to know it bothers us when no one really knows what he did to become The Chosen One anyways?"

He had a point. Lily shifted uncomfortably, staring at a spot a little to his left. "Dad never talks about why they follow him." She shrugged one shoulder uneasily. "Mum sometimes says that he's running from ghosts."

She tilted her head back, letting the evening candlelight flicker over her face. Albus nodded solemnly. Half of his face was hidden in shadows. "No one talks about it," he said. "And it seems foolish to ask about my own father."

Lily felt an unexpected flare of anger. A bitter taste started on her tongue. "Especially in Slytherin," she said quietly. "Where they might murder you in your sleep if you're not careful."

She tilted her chin up, daring him to argue with her. Albus looked at her coolly. "Slytherin is part of my family," he reminded her. "As are you. You had better learn to put up with them." _And Scorpius_, his eyes seemed to add. Lily scowled.

"Just because I tolerate your friends, Albus," she said slowly, "does not mean that I like them."

She lifted one eyebrow sharply. Her brother's face was pinched. His nose had been swallowed by shadows. "I think you should take a walk, Lily." His voice was stiff, and his hands had fisted by his sides. "I made an effort to get to know your friends. Think about that for a while."

His teeth were clenched. Lily felt a dark burst of irritation. She spun sharply on her heel, heading out towards the ground. "You're only nice to my mates, Albus," she muttered savagely, shoving open the door with a bang, "because they're your cousins."

A cool night breeze ruffled her hair as hurried out onto the steps. The lake was still in the moonlight, an eerie silver glow rising from it in a mist. Lily shivered. She pulled her robes tighter around her.

A feeling of bitterness rose up in her as she walked towards the edge of the water. With a huff, she collapsed on the misty bank. Lily tilted her head back to look at the stars.

She didn't know how Albus could stand Scorpius, let alone befriend him. He was the same arrogant prick that his father had been. At least, that's what Uncle Ron always insisted whenever Rose mentioned him. Lily imagined her uncle couldn't be too far off, no matter what Rose or Albus said. She closed her eyes, letting the moonlight wash over her face.

"Lil?" a voice asked. "Aren't you _cold_?"

Lily cracked open one eye. Lucy Weasley looked at her curiously, her intelligent grey eyes sweeping over the cloak Lily wore. Her brown curls looked almost silver in the night. Lily sighed.

"Did Albus send you?" she asked tiredly. "Because you should really just ignore him. He's being a git." She propped herself up on one elbow, scrutinizing Lucy's gaze. Her cousin scrunched up her nose. She lowered herself to sit beside Lily.

"Rox, actually," she corrected her. "She went mad when she came back to the dorm and saw that your bed was empty. There was a lot of cussing."

Lucy turned to look out over the water. A slight twinge of guilt ran through Lily as she noted her cousin's concerned expression. She sat back up, shifting her weight so that she faced Lucy. "It's just Al," she said finally. "And Scorpius."

She refused to meet Lucy's eyes. Lucy patted her arm consolingly. "And the press, too." Her cousin's eyes held a knowing look. "I saw the article. I knew it would bother you."

Her voice was tinged with sadness. Lily turned her head, fixing her gaze determinedly on the tree line of the forest. "Yes, well," she said tightly, "it's not as if I'm unused to it."

She shivered more violently. Lucy sighed, drawing what looked like a cloth of fabric from her pocket. "Here," she offered, enlarging it. "I brought your warmer cloak. You'll catch your death out here."

She clucked disapprovingly. Lily smiled, slipping it on gratefully. "It's only October, Luce," she reminded her, fastening the catch. "We have a little while to go before I need to worry about my death."

Lily drew her wand from her jeans, placing it instead in her coat pocket. Lucy gave her a mournful expression. "You're right," she agreed. "Quidditch season hasn't started yet, so for the time being, you're still in one piece."

Her grey eyes danced with amusement. Lily gave her a shove, shaking her head. "First the cloak, now the witty comments," she mused. "Not to mention the excessive reading. You should have been a Ravenclaw."

She shot a sidelong look at her cousin. Lucy gave her a tiny smile. "That's what Molly and my dad tell me every day," she said. "Yet, there I am, in your dorm room."

Lily nodded thoughtfully. "Yes," she agreed. "I'll have to mention that to Rox sometime. Your bed has become a nuisance. We may need to send you packing."

She looked with grave eyes at her cousin. Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Then I will sic Uncle George on the both of you," she promised. "Loaded with every prank imaginable. And on Hugo too, if he's involved."

She eyed Lily bemusedly. Lily smiled, leaning back to admire the night sky once again. Thousands of twinkling lights stared back at her. "And what about Hugo?" she asked, rolling her head to look at Lucy. "Why didn't they send him to come drag me back to the castle?"

Lily looked at her curiously. Lucy appeared hurt. She put a hand over her heart. "Am I not good enough?" she demanded.

Lily flicked some grass at her. "Not nearly," she said. "I need someone big enough to crush Scorpius in one go. And I'm sorry to say that you do not qualify."

She eyed Lucy's 5'3 frame pointedly. Her cousin scowled, wrapping herself into a ball. "I am plenty menacing when I want to be," she argued.

Even her tone was feeble. Lily let out a laugh. "I've never heard you say one bad word to anyone, Lucy," she said. "I doubt you have the heart to misplace a mandrake."

Lucy promptly ignored this. "Rox," she continued pointedly, "couldn't find Hugo. She scoured all of Gryffindor tower."

Lucy looked faintly concerned by this. Lily wasn't worried. She raised one eyebrow. "Did she check the quidditch pitch?" she asked dryly.

Lucy shook her head, worrying her bottom lip. "No," she admitted. "But you know Hugo. I'm sure he'll wind up in the middle of the Forbidden Forest with no idea how he got there in the first place."

She sounded more as if she was trying to convince herself than Lily. The red-head rolled back to face the inky sky. The full moon shone brightly out at her. She wondered idly how grumpy Teddy was tonight.

She frowned. Something wasn't quite right. The night air was almost too silent, an emptiness that expanded through-out the grounds. Try as she might, she couldn't make out even the hooves of the unicorns. Lily turned to relay her thoughts to Lucy.

A burst of green shot across the sky. Lily sat upright, scrambling to her feet. A sharp crack split the night, echoing off the distant hills. A scream split the air. Lucy stood as well.

"Lily?" Lucy began, her voice worried. Lily held up a hand, throwing her head back to examine the cloud of green condensing in the air. It had begun to take form. The banners of mist had twined together, wrapping and weaving until they formed a single shape.

It was a skull with a snake.

"Lily?" Lucy repeated. "What is that?" She sounded truly afraid. Lily turned to look at her blankly. She tried to quash the fear growing inside of her.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But I don't like it." She examined the symbol again, feeling a chill go down her back. Her palms had grown sweaty. Another shriek arose from the castle. Lucy grabbed her wrist.

"Come on," she instructed, tugging on her arm. "Let's go find the others." Her tone was calm with an undertone of panic. She had pulled out her wand.

Lily allowed herself to be towed along, gaping openly at the skull. A feeling of recognition niggled at the back of her head. She had seen it before, but where? More screams joined the first. Lucy sped up, sharply pulling at Lily's wrist. Lily drew it back reproachfully

"I take back what I said," she announced, jogging to keep up with her cousin. "If you were a Ravenclaw, you would be running _away_ from the screams. Not toward them."

Lucy tossed her a glance as they shifted to a sprint. A few more shrill noises were heard from inside the walls. "Are you hearing this?" she asked, cupping a hand to her ear. "Neither of us could turn around, and you know it."

They threw open the doors hurriedly. A mess of students rushed through the halls, all of them in a blind panic. A couple had taken to their brooms to fly overtop the confusion. Prefects called directions uselessly over the noise, their voices strained and unsure. Lily caught sight of Lysander hurriedly reassuring a couple first years.

"What is going _on?" _she demanded, turning to face Lucy. "This is insane! Surely it's not all because of green smoke in the sky?" She raised her eyebrows at her cousin. Lucy shrugged.

"Draw your wand just in case," she cautioned, hurrying into the crowd. "If you find Rox and them, send up red sparks."

Lily nodded, turning in the opposite direction. She darted quickly through the crowd. The students pushed aimlessly, a lot of them wearing similar confused expressions. Most sported pajamas. To her relief, Lily caught sight of a familiar brown-haired girl carving a path through the mass. Her mocha-skin was spotted with grime and ash.

"Rox!" she yelled, pushing her way in her direction. "Roxanne Weasley! For Merlin's sake, stop for a moment." Her heart was racing as she knocked aside students. Her cousin whipped around, craning her tall neck to peer over the crowd. Her brown eyes narrowed as she caught sight of Lily.

"Took you long enough!" she complained, threading her way towards her. "Did Lucy lose you in the lake somewhere?"

Her tone had an undercurrent of relief. Lily slapped a hand to her head, raising her wand. "Luce made me promise to shoot up red sparks when I found you," she explained. Roxanne shook her head.

"Don't bother," she said. "She won't be able to see them in this crowd. I couldn't, and I've got five inches on her." She frowned, twirling her wand as she stood on her toes. Lily lowered her wand.

"Do you have any idea what's happening?" she asked. "All of Hogwarts is in a panic." She bit her lip as she watched Lorcan try to put out a fire. Roxanne fell flat to her feet again. She had to look down to meet Lily's eyes.

"No idea," she said. "One moment I'm about to storm out after you and Lucy, and the next Professor Longbottom is being trampled by a horde of panicked students. I don't think most of them know what they're yelling about anyways," she said, shrugging. "But I've heard a couple things about a green snake."

Her voice sounded as if she could care less about the reason behind the throng, but rather how they could stop it. Lily had to admit she had a point. She cleared her throat. "Have you seen Al?" she asked. "Or Rose and Hugo?"

She couldn't help but sound a little worried. Roxanne waved impatiently at her, using her height to see over the crowd again. "Do you think I'm doing this for toe exercise?" she asked pointedly. Seeing Lily's expression, she gently added, "I saw Al and Rose with Scorpius and some Slytherins earlier. They looked fine."

"And Hugo?" Lily asked hopefully. She stood on her toes as well. Roxanne bit her lip.

"Well," she said optimistically, "two out of three isn't bad."

A loud crash came from somewhere on their left. A flyer had broken through the window. Roxanne was off without so much as a good-bye, charging towards the broken glass. Lily hesitated before turning in the opposite direction. She sped towards the stairs, following the path Lucy had took.

A hand shot out and grabbed her arm. Lily screamed, immediately pulling her wand.

"Expelliarmus!" she yelled, pointing it firmly at her attacker. Her hands shook as the blast left it. The figure was thrown five feet back. A startled yell rose as they hit the ground. Lily raised her wand again.

"It's me!" the figure called, raising their hands to block their face. "Bloody hell, Lilsy, it's me!" The person sounded indignant. Lily's heart began to hammer as she lowered her wand in shock. No one called her that except for one person.

"_Hugo_?" she asked disbelievingly. Her cousin picked himself up crossly, dusting his robes off.

"Who else were you expecting?" he asked irritably. "The press, perhaps?" He looked around him pointedly. Lily bit her lip.

"I couldn't help it!" she protested. "You were grabbing at me. It was a reaction." She crossed her arms defensively. Hugo's eyebrows disappeared under his shock of red-brown hair.

"Where do you live that you need reactions like _that_?" he asked incredulously. "In the middle of a war zone?"

His brown eyes scanned her face for an answer. Lily shrugged. "Living with James is a constant war zone," she said. "Do you have any idea where Lucy is?"

"Right here," Lucy announced, appearing beside her. "Honestly, Lily. As soon as one of us finds you, you're asking for the other one."

Lily was glad Lucy had the sense not to sneak up on her. One accidental assault was enough for the day. She frowned. "Oi," she protested. "I love you both equally, alright? Now let's figure out how to get out of this mess."

A feeling of anxiousness came over her as the crowd pressed closer. She still had not caught sight of either Rose or Albus. Hugo tapped his wand impatiently.

"That's what I was trying to _find_ you for," he said exasperatedly. "Professor Longbottom says that we should clear out. He's creating portkeys." Hugo's eyes were steady beneath the grime as he looked at them. "And if you can apparate, even better. Something about that green mist really spooked him."

He lifted one shoulder carelessly. Lucy shook her head, her brown hair falling in her face. "But we can't apparate," she pointed out logically. "And if we do a portkey, we need to find everyone. It'll be impossible in this crowd." She shot a despairing look at the stampede of students. Lily could easily see her point. They would need to gather all the Weasleys if they wanted to portkey to the Burrow. Hugo gave them both a smug look.

"Ah, but you forget that Rose passed her apparating test last week. So did Albus. All we need," he continued sagely, "is Rox."

Lucy looked even more hopeless. Lily sighed. "Bugger," she said. "That girl is harder to find than all of our family put together. Well," she added, her eyes sweeping over Hugo, "maybe not you when we're in a quidditch supply store."

"Oi!" a voice shouted, causing all three of them to jump. "You lot! Weasley clan! Red-heads-united!" Lily turned as Roxanne pushed towards them, waving what looked like a head ripped off a suit of armor at them. "Where have you all been?"

She looked out of breath as she reached them. Her cheeks were tinted red. Hugo frowned. "You weren't exactly around yourself," he noted. Roxanne scowled.

"Because I was getting the portkey," she stressed, waving the statue head accusingly. "It goes in ten seconds. Let's move!"

She shoved the object towards them. Lucy looked hesitant, biting her lip. "What about Al and Rose?" she asked worriedly. "And the first years? Oh Merlin, we can't just leave them!"

Her eyes had widened in alarm. Lily looked down to where her, Roxanne and Hugo's hands all lay on the head. It had begun to glow blue in warning. "Lucy Weasley," she ground out. "If you don't touch the portkey this instant, I will tell Uncle Percy about the D in potions."

Her cousin looked scandalized. "Lily!" she reprimanded her. She gave her a reproachful look. Hugo looked like her was trying hard not to laugh.

Lily shrugged. "Sorry," she said. She let out a sigh of relief as Lucy lay her hand on the portkey right as it flashed. Lily felt her feet dragged from the ground. Lucy let out a scream as they lifted off, accompanied by a laugh of elation from Roxanne.

Lily caught one last sight of the green skull out the window before she was pulled through to the Burrow.

_A/N: Please leave me a review and make my day! Favourite characters? Anyone you'd like to see more of? Let me know!_


	3. The Burrow

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling!_

_ A/N: Insert some vague apology and excuse here._

Lily felt her knees hit the hard floor of the Burrow. Bracing herself for the impact, she rolled into a ball as the portkey dumped them unceremoniously on the ground. She could hear Roxanne swear loudly.

"Bloody _hell_," her cousin complained. "I think I may have broken something. What in Merlin's saggy left-"

"Hello, Grandma Molly!" Lucy cut in. She shot Roxanne a sharp look. "How perfectly lovely to see you."

Molly Weasley stood frozen by the kettle, surveying the mess of limbs tangled on the carpet. Her fork hovered half way to her mouth. Her other hand was suspended in mid-reach for the potatoes. Lucy offered her an apologetic smile.

"We're so sorry to disturb your dinner," she said sincerely, "but it was of pressing urgency." She looked hopefully at their grandmother. Molly had gone a pale shade. She shook her head wordlessly. Her lips opened and closed like a fish out of water. Hugo let out a loud groan.

"Lil!" he complained, his voice muffled. "You're sitting on top of me! Off. Now."

This seemed to snap Molly out of it. She stood abruptly, knocking over the potatoes altogether. Her hand went immediately to her wand. "What is it?" she asked sharply. "What's happened?"

Her worried eyes probed their faces. Lily took the opportunity to roll off of her cousin, swinging herself into one of the remaining chairs. She looked her grandmother in the eye. "Professor Longbottom sent us home." She watched her grandmother's expression raptly. "Hogwarts was in an uproar about a green skull appearing in the sky."

She kept her gaze steady and even. Molly sat back down hard, her hands knitting together. Her face had drained of all blood. "Are you sure?" she whispered, staring down at the table. "Above Hogwarts? Did Neville say anything to you?"

Lucy came to sit beside her, wrapping her hands protectively around her grandmother's frail hands. "Yes, we're sure. We saw the skull ourselves," she said softly, ignoring Hugo and Roxanne's looks of disbelief. "All Professor Longbottom said was to make sure we got out of there. He sent us by portkey."

Molly gave a shaky breath. She stood up slowly, walking over to the kitchen. Lily heard the whistle of a kettle being started and vegetables chopping. Molly poked her head out to look at them. "Albus?" she asked worriedly. "Rose?"

There was a despairing undercurrent to her tone. Lily looked at her reassuringly. "Both are on their way," she promised. "They can apparate out any time."

A feeling of uncertainty bounced around inside of her as she spoke. Why weren't they back yet? She glanced at Hugo, who shrugged. Molly busied herself with the tea.

"Well, why don't you four sit down, then?" she said, offering them a watery smile. "You're all looking a little peaky. Some food will do you good." She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. Lily turned tactfully away, shuffling her chair aside so Roxanne could sit beside her.

"Is it just me," Rox whispered, "or has Grandma gone a little mad since you mentioned that thing in the sky?" She eyed Molly pointedly, who was staring at what appeared to be a clock. Lily shook her head.

"You can hardly blame her," she said. "You know better than all of us that Uncle Fred's death hit the family hard. She's probably just concerned about Albus and Rose." She sounded uncertain even to herself. Rox looked at her skeptically.

"I'm worried she's going to faint into the vegetables," she said bluntly. "She doesn't look too well, does she?" She glanced purposefully to where Molly stood, slumped over a little. Her eyes were rimmed with red. She looked as if she hadn't slept in days, and Lily had to silently agree with her cousin.

There was a pop as Bill Weasley apparated into the kitchen, stumbling a little upon arrival. Lucy shrieked and tumbled off her chair. She stood up quickly again, ducking her head to hide her red face. Bill appeared to have not noticed anything.

"I got your message, Mum," he called, coming to take a seat at the table. "I tried to get in, but Hogwarts has put up wards. No one can get within a mile radius of that place."

He looked tired and drawn. Molly rushed out of the kitchen. "Did you see it?" she asked anxiously. "The mark? Is it really there?"

She had a fearful note in her voice that Lily could not identify. Bill nodded solemnly. "But it doesn't mean anything," he reassured her, turning towards the rest of them. "As for you lot, stay put alright? We're all going to stay here for a while."

Bill rested his head in his hands. The exhaustion was in every line and scar on his face. Molly patted his shoulder before laying a cup of tea next to him. "Is Louis stopping by?" she asked her son. "Your father wanted to talk to him about some Ministry work."

She dumped the chopped vegetables into a soup, stirring it distractedly. Bill looked surprised. "He's probably off with Molly again," he said dismissively, waving his hand. "You know how those two are. But mum," he continued, "when I said we're all was coming here, I meant all of us. Right?"

Molly almost dropped the spoon ladle. "All of you?" she echoed. "Tonight?" She crinkled her nose worriedly. "Good Merlin, alright. I'm sure we can pull out some of the spare loafs in the basement, and I already have supper started. Sleeping arrangements might be a little tricky. They're nothing that we can't work out, though."

She bit her lip, stirring the soup more feverishly. Bill looked guilty. "Fleur and I don't mind having the attic," he said. "And I'm sure the kids can all sleep in the living room."

Molly tapped her chin with her free hand. "Yes, that seems like a good idea," she admitted. "As long as Ron really did get rid of that ghoul..."

Bill nodded, standing swiftly. "I'll go talk to the others," he said. "Let them know what's happening. Thanks for the tea." He nodded towards where the cup stood before disappearing with a crack. Molly lay a hand on her heart.

"Oh dear," she fussed. "I had better get started on making beds. Roxanne, would you be a dear and watch the soup for me?"

She gazed entreatingly at her granddaughter. Roxanne looked at her blankly. "Er," she said. "Literally watch it? What happens if it begins to burn?" She looked horrified by this suggestion.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at her cousin. "I will, Grandma Molly," she promised. "And I'll make sure Roxanne doesn't go anywhere near it."

She crossed her heart. Molly looked relieved. "Thank-you, Lily," she said, leaning to kiss her affectionately on the cheek before bustling off. Lily waited until she was gone to speak.

"Alright," she said immediately once her Grandmother was out of ear-shot. "What was that all about?"

Hugo leaned forward, helping himself to the biscuits on the table. "''ell I shtink they're 'orried," he said, speaking around a mouthful of crumbs. Lucy wrinkled her nose.

"Chew, Hugo," she advised, passing him a napkin. "Merlin. You and Uncle Ron are absolutely inept at eating." Hugo glared at her, but wisely did not try to speak. Lily cleared her throat. A feeling of nervousness had begun to rise in her chest.

"I think they're keeping something from us," she said quietly. "Grandma Molly seemed terrified when I mentioned the skull, and Uncle Bill knew exactly what was happening straight-away. It's like they've done this before."

She waited for them to understand. Not surprisingly, Lucy got it first. Her eyes widened. "You don't mean - surely not," she breathed. "The war?"

Her voice was nervousness mixed with amazement. Lily nodded solemnly. "It makes sense."

Roxanne made an impatient noise. "To people who speak troll," she said. "Please explain, Lil-a-flower." She raised her eyebrows. Lily glared at the nickname, but obliged.

"We've heard a couple references to a war," she explained. "It happened sometime when our parents were our age. We know that Uncle Fred and a lot of other people died in it. We know that it was stopped somehow. And we know that our families were involved."

Understanding had sparked in Hugo's eyes. Roxanne still looked impatient. "Alright," she agreed. "And that's a great lesson for History of Magic that I can sleep through sometime. But what in Merlin's name does that have to do with anything we're talking about?"

She took a sip of her tea, confident that none of them had the faintest clue what they were going on about. Lily tossed her red hair behind her. She checked the door before continuing.

"Because," she said softly. "It's all connected. The snake, the last war, the panic today... I don't know how," she continued, "but it feels as if it should be."

Roxanne's eyes grew big. "You mean-"

She was cut off as James Potter appeared with a crack. Lucy screamed for the second time that day, clapping a hand to her mouth. James grinned.

"Easy, Lu," he advised. "I come in peace."

Roxanne shook her head. Her expression was torn between amusement and disappointment. "Twice in one day?" she asked. "Really, Lucy? When I get my apparation license in two years, you had better watch out."

There was a twinkle of mischief in her eye that Lily had seen occasionally in her Uncle George's. Lucy stuck out her tongue. James appeared to finally notice his sister

"Lils!" James said, picking her up off the chair and swinging her around. "I missed you!" Lily hit him on the shoulder.

"Put me down, James!" she protested. "It's only been two months!" Her legs kicked weakly in the air. James laughed.

"Not until you say that you missed me too," he told her, "and admit that you love me more than Al."

She paused her whacking of his shoulder to look him in the eye. "Lying is a sin," she told him solemnly. James shook his head in disappointment. He dumped her on the floor.

"I didn't come to see you anyways." He stuck out his tongue childishly. "I was looking for Grandma Molly. Is she around?"

Roxanne lifted a finger, twirling it to point at the door she had left through. "That-a-ways," she instructed. "But she's making beds. I wouldn't want to disturb her without being armed with a blunt stick or two."

James swallowed visibly. "I'll take my chances." He turned to go before pausing, sniffing the air. "Is there something burning?" he asked.

Lily jumped immediately to her feet. "The soup!" she cried, running over to check. A black crust had formed around the edges, and smoke rose in a thick waft. She turned the stove off with a flick of her wand, staring at the goop in dismay.

"Er," she said, turning to the others. "Anyone up for sandwiches?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The fire crackled in the grate, casting shadows over the young adults gathered in the living room. Lily pulled the quilt more tightly around her. She leant tiredly against Hugo's shoulder. From the sound of his even breathing, he was already asleep. Lily frowned. The clock read ten past eleven.

"Molly," she whispered, nudging her older cousin's form with her leg. "Mols!"

The brunette looked at her reproachfully, opening her eyes slowly. Lily was once again taken aback by how much she looked like Lucy. In the firelight, all that separated Molly from her sister were her brown eyes.

"What?" she asked tiredly, glaring at Lily as she covered a yawn. Lily bit her lip.

"Do you think they're still up talking?" she asked softly, motioning with her head to where the adults had gathered in the next room. "About what happened today?"

Bitterness flashed in Molly's eyes. Her cousin let the blankets drop from her shoulders. "How should I know?" she grouched. "It's not like I'd be considered an adult. Despite the fact that I'm nineteen now," she added shortly, "and have read more books than all of them put together."

Her tone was serious. Lily raised one eyebrow. "Careful," she cautioned lightly. "Both your dad and Aunt Hermione are in there. You may have some competition." She decided not to mention that Victoire, who was the oldest at twenty-three, had also not been included in this meeting. Molly had certainly taken it harder than the rest of them.

A silence fell as Lily stared at the crackling flames. She was glad that all of her cousins had stayed over, whatever the reason may have been. She missed seeing them while she was at school. Her eyes trailed to Louis, Fred and Dominique's forms. Lily could still picture them on their last days, riding away from Hogwarts for the final time...

"Lily?" Molly asked quietly, regaining her attention. "Did Albus and Rose ever make it home?"

Her voice was calm, but her eyes betrayed nervousness. Lily's hands clutched at her blankets until her knuckles went white. "No," she said shortly, gazing into the flames. "Nobody's heard from them. Mum's beside herself with worry."

There was a pause as Molly rustled in her blankets. Lily bit her lip until she tasted blood. She wished Albus were here. "No wonder you can't sleep," Molly said finally. "You're worried."

An understanding had entered her voice. It had the same sound Lucy's did after she had figured out the concept of a new spell. Lily met her cousin's eyes. "Aren't you?" she asked softly. "We left them in a stampede of panicked students. They should have apparated home hours ago," she continued, "and now they're having a meeting in the next room. I think you'd have to be mental not to be a little concerned."

She searched Molly's eyes. The browns were not warm like her grandmother's, but intelligent and quick. Molly nodded slightly. "I'm hoping Vic can get something out of Teddy," she admitted. "If she can, we'll know soon enough." Her hand strayed to Louis' sleeping form, absently brushing a lock of blonde off his face as she spoke. The tenderness in the expression was unmistakeable.

Lily glanced across the room to where James slept, a hand tossed over his head. She examined his face closely. He looked years younger in his sleep. "I think James knows something," she confessed, watching his face change as he dreamt. "He was in a hurry to see Grandma Molly this morning. But I doubt he would tell me, even if he did know what was going on."

Molly shot a calculating glance at him. "Probably by eavesdropping," she said disapprovingly. "Merlin knows why else they would tell him." Her tone was betrayed by a small amount of affection. Lily smiled as her brother frowned in his sleep.

"Probably," she agreed. "I don't see how he would have done it, though. I tried listening in earlier and they've blocked it with multiple wards. At least ten, from the looks of it."

Molly gave her a disapproving look that she ignored. Her cousin sighed. "I did check the library," she admitted. "But there was nothing on a green skull."

Molly looked vaguely disappointed and perplexed that the library had failed her. Lily was fighting with the surprise that her rule-abiding cousin had looked into something relatively forbidden in the first place. She shook her head.

"What about the books on the war?" she asked, pressing the issue. "In the restricted section?"

Her cousin frowned. "That's what I thought." Molly agreed. "But you need special signatures and such to look at those. I doubt it's in there anyways." she added, seeing Lily's hopeful expression. "It's more likely dark magic books than on the war, really."

Her tone was gentle. Lily slumped back against the sofa, thinking. "What about Hogwarts?" she asked. "Do you think they would have anything?"

Molly offered her a tiny smile. "I think that you should stop worrying," she told her firmly, "and try to get some sleep. It's going to be mad with all of us here tomorrow."

"But-" she protested.

"Lily," Molly warned her. "Sleep."

She couldn't help but sigh. Molly crossed her arms seriously. "Alright," Lily agreed reluctantly. "I'll try." She lay her head on Hugo's shoulder as if to prove her point. Molly smiled tiredly.

"Good," she said. "Wake me up if Rose and Al come in, yeah?"

Lily nodded, letting her hair fall in her face. Molly had already shut her eyes and was breathing evenly. Lily stared into the flames once again. She let herself think of her brother and the last time she had seen him before the panic had started. Guilt went through her as she remembered their row. Exhaling, she snuggled deeper into her comforter.

It was going to be a long night.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Lily closed her eyes tiredly, propping her head up with one elbow. She covered a yawn with her free hand. Though the sunshine streaming in through the window promised a new day, she could barely keep from falling asleep at breakfast. The other Weasley and Potter children gathered around the scrubbed table didn't look much better.

Across from her, Fred ran one hand through his unkept red hair. "Blimey," he said wearily. "I must have woken up twice every hour last night. I don't think I got a wink of sleep."

Yellow and green smudged under his eyes as if to prove his point. Molly Weasley bustled out of the kitchen, smiling at her grandson fondly. "Nothing a spot of breakfast can't fix up," she chirped. Lily watched half-heartedly as she lay a steaming plate of eggs, bacon and juicy sausage down on the table. This was quickly followed by both fruit and toast. Lily mustered a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Grandma Molly," she said, reaching to grab some sausage. "Do you know if my parents are awake yet?"

Hugo threw her a look at this. He knew she was impatient to ask them about Albus. Molly shook her head, lines appearing on her kind face as she smiled softly. "They're all in an early meeting, dear," she told her, scooping some toast onto Lily's plate. "Why don't you all eat up? I'm sure they'll be down soon enough. In fact, I'll go check up on them. See if they wouldn't like some bacon or eggs."

She hurried towards the door, leaving it ajar as she left the kitchen. Lily stared dejectedly at her plate. Beside her, Lucy lay a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he's fine," she said soothingly. "He's probably just caught up trying to help Professor Longbottom repair the school. You know how he is."

There was an undertone of worry in her cousin's voice that Lily didn't like. James snorted loudly to her left. "Lucy's right," he agreed, biting into some toast. "No one would be able to tell he was a Slytherin if he didn't wear green most of the time. He's too... _nice._"

He said the word as if disgusted with his brother. Lily allowed herself a small smile. "Maybe he just likes that it matches his eyes," she suggested. "Slytherins are supposed to be vain."

"Dear me," a voice at the door said. "I come home and you're already talking about me."

Lily jumped up as Albus walked tiredly in, Rose trailing not far behind him. Both looked exhausted. Lily's plate was immediately forgotten as she launched herself at her brother, hugging him tightly.

"You prat!" she said, laughing as she wiped at her eyes viciously with her sleeve. "I thought you had gone and gotten yourself killed!"

She glared at him. Albus offered her a sheepish smile. "We got a little, er... sidetracked," he offered. "I'll tell you about it later. Now, is that breakfast?" His eyes lit up as he took in the table. Lily took one look at her brother's hopeful expression and moved reluctantly aside. There was a shuffling of chairs as everyone moved to make room for him.

"Where did Rose go?" Lily asked, frowning as she realized that her cousin had disappeared. Al's eyes held a hint of something as he looked at her.

"I don't know," he said shortly. "She must have forgotten something by the brooms."

His voice sounded a little too innocent. Lily opened her mouth to speak when Louis began to speak. "You travelled by broom?" he asked curiously. "You must have been freezing." His blue eyes swept over his cousin's face, curious beneath his dark sweep of hair.

"Yes," Victoire added thoughtfully. "Why wouldn't you have apparated?" Dominique leaned forward with wide eyes. Lily was again struck by the difference among the three siblings. While both girls had the blonde pallor of their mother, Louis was almost a polar opposite. Albus shook his head.

"There were wards," he explained around a mouthful of bacon. "We tried, but you bounce right off of them. It looked like my dad's work." He shrugged, shoving another forkful of food into his mouth. Lily chewed her own thoughtfully.

"Hogwarts has them as well," she recalled, thinking of what her Uncle Bill had said. "You can't get in. We must have put them up last night."

"Certainly gave us quite the headache," Rose called, strolling through the door. "I can't tell you how many spells I tried to get us through. But Uncle Harry's good." She offered them a small smile. Hugo shook his head at his sister.

"_You _gave us quite the headache," he said, pointing his spoon at her accusingly. "Lilsy was throwing a fit. Did you think we would just hold an early funeral for you and then let it go?"

Only Lily knew him well enough to identify the small amount of relief in his voice. Lucy hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh hush, Hugo," she admonished him. "They're here now and that's all that matters." She hopped up from her chair, crossing the room to give her cousin a hug. "I'm glad to see you're home, Rose."

A guilty expression flashed across the red-head's face before she hugged Lucy back tightly. "Me too," she said. Lucy patted her back consolingly before freezing, her gaze catching on the door. She disentangled herself from Rose shortly.

"Oh," Lucy said. Her gaze was fixed on the door. Beside her, Rose's blue eyes were expressionless.

Dominique sat up a little straighter in her chair, craning her neck to see. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Yes," Rox echoed, her tone slightly annoyed. "Don't be afraid to break the suspense, Lu."

Lucy blushed. Spurred on by her cousin, she stepped back to allow the visitor to pass through. Lily's gaze flicked to Al. His own eyes were trained on his plate. Lily glanced back to the door and caught a shock of blonde hair.

In the middle of the kitchen stood Scorpius Malfoy.

_A/N: Well, things are certainly about to get interesting. Favourite characters? Lines? Anything you'd like to see? Please leave me a comment; signed or anonymus would make my day better!_


	4. Brooms and Bars

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!_

_ A/N: This one took me a little longer to get up. I hope it was worth the wait!_

Lily felt her spine stiffen as she locked eyes with the boy. Next to her, Albus cleared his throat.

"You all know Scorpius from school," he said. "He's going to be staying the next little while." He shot his friend a meaningful look. The blonde wrinkled his nose.

"Merlin, who declared this red-head capital?" He eyed Albus's dark hair thoughtfully. "They stare at you as well, then?"

Albus cast his eyes skyward. Lily noticed that next to him, Fred and Roxanne had both tightened their grips on their knives. Hugo's eyes were flickering protectively between Lily and Scorpius. Rose shook her head.

"Scorpius," she said quietly. "Play nice." She touched a meaningful hand to his arm. Lily narrowed her eyes. Dominique was looking at him curiously.

"_Tu êtes pas mauvais_," she mused, her eyes wide. "A bit too young for me though, I think. Rose never mentioned how fanciable you were." Her gaze flicked across his face. Scorpius raised one eyebrow. Rose rolled her eyes.

"You must be hungry," she said pointedly, ending the discussion effectively. "Al's hungry, I'm hungry, you're hungry. Let's eat!" She sat down between Louis and Fred, removing the knife from the latter's grasp. Scorpius threw himself casually into the one beside Lily.

"'Lo Lily," he said, smirking at her. "Has the pain of missing me overwhelmed you yet?" Lily felt her hand twitch with the urge to slap him. She checked to make sure her cousins were busy interrogating Al and Rose before speaking.

"Look," she said quietly. "I know you don't like me. I actually despise you. But I thought my brother died today with his last memory of me being one where I was yelling at him about you. So you and I are going to be civilized towards each other while you're here. Got it?"

She looked at him darkly beneath her red curls. Something swirled in his blue eyes as he looked at her, but he merely nodded before taking a swig of her pumpkin juice.

"That was never going to be an issue," he said innocently, handing her back her cup. "So long as you can keep your hands off of me."

His eyes were smug. Lily felt a burst of outrage in the pit of her stomach. "Keep my _hands_ off of you?" she demanded in a hushed voice. "You'll be fortunate if I can keep my vomit off of you now-"

"Albus Severus Potter!" Ginny Potter called, striding into the kitchen. "Do you have any idea how worried your father and I have been? What in Merlin's name were you thinking?" Her brown eyes cut into her son like laser beams. Her hands were planted firmly on her hips. Lily noticed many of her cousins duck their heads to hide their smiles. Ginny's temper was legendary. Albus gulped audibly.

"Maybe we could have a private word, Mum?" he asked, his gaze flicking to Scorpius. "There are some things we should probably discus." Ginny's gaze softened slightly as she followed her son's gaze to where Scorpius sat. She nodded stiffly at Albus.

"Garden," she ordered. "You have three minutes while I go and tell your father that you're here. He's about two seconds away from calling the Auror department to send out a search party." She looked at Albus severely. He had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Sorry mum," he muttered, his eyes glued to the table. "I promise, it will make more sense when we explain." Ginny's eyes strayed to Scorpius once again before she straightened rigidly. She hit Albus lightly over the back of the head.

"It had better, young man," she said, though her tone had calmed some. "As for you Scorpius..." The blonde beside Lily froze as Ginny caught his eye. She smiled. "It's nice to see you again."

"You as well," Scorpius agreed. "Though it's slightly lessened by the cheerful disposition we all seem to be in."

Lily was surprised to see that her mother smiled reluctantly. "All the same," she said, snatching a piece of toast off the table as she left. Albus visibly relaxed as the door shut behind her. James sighed in disappointment.

"I thought she was going to rip your head off," he said, "and then convince the gnomes to turn carnivorous and eat you." He didn't bother to try and hide the glee in his tone. Albus shrugged.

"She wouldn't have had to turn them," he said. "They already eat bacon. Here, I'll show you." He rose swiftly from the table. "Rose and Scorpius as well."

The former stood easily. "I suppose," she agreed smoothly. "I left my broom out there, anyways." Scorpius made a sound of amusement.

"You mean somewhere in the tree?" he asked innocently. Rose sighed exasperatedly.

"Come along, Scorpius," she instructed. "We need to talk. All four of us," she added, clearly noticing James wistful glance towards the porridge. Scorpius met her eyes before nodding, standing as well.

"Oh, alright," James conceded, pushing back his own chair as well. "Let's make this quick. Fred will eat everything while we're gone otherwise."

Fred did not look the least bit embarrassed by this. "Better hurry back before all the bacon disappears!" he called as James left. "Have fun with your gnomes!"

James gave him a very rude gesture as the four slipped outside, shutting the door behind him. Roxanne immediately began speaking as soon as their footsteps quieted.

"So," she said casually. "I was thinking we could go into Diagon Alley later. Lucy, Lils?" There was a steely look in her eyes that suggested that this was not so much a proposition as an order. Lucy looked torn.

"I don't know," she admitted, biting her lip. "I don't think dad would be too pleased with that. Especially not now." She shot a quick look to Molly, who had looked up from her conversation with Louis to listen in. The older girl shook her head.

"Absolutely not," she agreed. "What if something happened and there was a panic like yesterday? None of you could apparate out. It would be a disaster." Roxanne swept her dark hair behind her impatiently.

"We could floo out," she argued. "Or fly-"

Fred cut her off with a laugh. "Roxie," he said, bemused. "Have you ever seen Lucy try to fly? She's worse than Rose."

"So we'd floo!" Rox pressed. "Besides, they were all panicked over some skull in the sky. It's not like it shot beams of death from its eyes or anything." It was a good point. Molly chewed her lip a little more.

"Yes," she agreed hesitantly. "But-"

"I think they should go," Louis cut in. "They're almost all sixteen now, Mols. Besides, it's going to be a funeral in here once the meeting breaks up. They deserve some fun." Lily watched as an understanding look passed between the two of them.

Lily shot a grateful look at Louis. "Hugo could come, too," she suggested, glancing over at him. "No one's going to attack if there's four of us." She could tell it eased Molly's mind some to know that they would have a boy with them. Hugo was certainly not a presence you could ignore. At 6'2 with broad shoulders toned from quidditch playing, he was the picture of intimidation.

"Yes," Hugo agreed sarcastically. "That way I can fly Lucy out to safety when she falls off her broom." He stopped, seeing the look on Lily's face. "Oh," he said. "You're serious."

Lucy met her sister's eyes. "Please, Mols?" she asked. "I could go and ask Mum and Dad, but I just thought... seeing as you're probably most in charge..." She gave her a pleading look.

Lily ducked her head to hide a smile. _Clever, Lucy, _she thought. _Molly will like thinking she's holding the responsibility_. Molly tapped a finger to her chin, looking thoughtful.

"No, it's alright," she said finally. "You can go. Just stay together and don't go anywhere near Knockturn Alley."

"Otherwise," Louis warned, "I won't be able to restrain Molly from coming in after you herself." His eyes sparked with amusement as he looked over at her. Molly shook her head.

"You deserve some fun," she admitted, echoing Louis' words. "Now go, before I change my mind."

She looked at them all so fondly that Lily felt a squirm of guilt go through her stomach. Hugo kept a straight face and nodded. Rox winked out of the corner of her eye. Lucy was the perfect picture of innocence as she cleared her plate, though Lily noticed that her hands shook slightly.

"Thanks, Mols," Lucy said weakly. Roxanne's eyes held a hint of excitement as she stood.

"Come on, you three," she said, her voice giddy. "Let's floo."

xxxxxxxx

Lily coughed as she stumbled from the fireplace into the middle of Diagon Alley. She righted herself hurriedly, narrowly avoiding a witch levitating a stack of cauldrons about eight feet high. The witch shot her a reproachful look before hurrying off. Lily flushed, beginning to move to the side when a person knocked her forward.

She stumbled, twirling around to grab hold of whatever had hit her. Hugo eyed her hand that latched onto his jumper sheepishly. "At least we didn't end up on the ground this time," he offered. They both stepped aside as Lucy flew into view, catching herself more gracefully than the other two. Last to arrive was Roxanne.

"I could do that all day!" she announced, laughing as she caught her balance. "Merlin, I feel bad for muggles. Have you ever tried a water slide? To think some of them are afraid of them!"

There was a mad excitement in her voice that made Lily slightly nervous. She looked at her cousin hesitantly. "You aren't planning to take a trip to Flourish and Blotts, are you Rox?" she asked. The light in Roxanne's eyes grew.

"No," she admitted, carving a path between the shoppers. "Never was."

She sounded as if this were a minor hiccup. Lucy's eyes widened. "What?" she demanded. "_Rox. _We can't just go galavanting off wherever you'd like, you know."

"She's right," Hugo agreed. "First we go to the quidditch store, _then_ we go galavanting."

Roxanne pushed ahead purposefully, leading them towards what appeared to be the Leaky Cauldron. Lily reached forward to grab her dorm mate's shoulder. "Rox," she said quietly. "That's a bad idea. Think of who we are. We can't just go for a spin to the Leaky Cauldron. It's a bar, and we're underaged! The press will have a field day."

Roxanne shrugged, looking at her sideways. "Who cares?" she asked. "It's a pub. It's not illegal to stop by for a perfectly _non-alcoholic beverage_." She put emphasis on the last few words. Lily glanced back at the other two. Hugo appeared to be convincing Lucy that Roxanne really wasn't trying to get them all killed. Lily sometimes wondered if he actually believed that.

"Do you have a particular reason for wanting the prophet to eat us alive?" she asked. "Or do you feel the need to do something reckless every day?"

"It's hourly, actually," Roxanne corrected her, pulling open the door to the pub. "And you're about to see."

Lily let her eyes adjust to the dim light as they entered. She pulled her hood up to hide her flaming hair, keeping her eyes downcast in the hopes nobody would recognize her. Hugo let out a sharp breath through his teeth.

"You better have a mission, Rox," he hissed in her ear. "Because Lucy is going to faint at any minute." His eyes darted pointedly to where Lucy stood, her eyes scanning the pub apprehensively. The bartender was watching her stiff posture with interest.

"Relax," Rox said, completely at ease. "I know what I'm doing." Her eyes lit as she caught sight of something down the hallway to their left. She motioned for them to follow with one hand before turning to leave. Lucy let out a tiny squeak.

"Is she insane?" she breathed. "That's right next to the bar! All the prophet needs to do is snap a photo of me, caption it 'Weasley Gets wasted!', and my future career as a healer is over."

"Yes, well," Hugo said, "shove Rox in front of you if you can. She can take the hit." He looked almost hopeful that a photographer would appear. Lily sighed, starting after her cousin into the hallway. The other two shortly followed.

Roxanne was examining a portrait with interest. Her hands skimmed the frame lightly as she searched the picture, her eyes sharp and probing. She tilted her head, a smug smile coming to her face.

"Take a look," she offered. Lily switched places with her, letting her eyes travel over the scene. There were no figures, which was odd for a wizarding portrait, but instead a large castle that sat overlooking the water. She raised her eyebrows at Roxanne.

"Hogwarts?" she asked her. Roxanne nodded impatiently, waving her hand.

"Keep looking," she instructed. Lily did so, letting her eyes wander over the scene. The sky was the inky black of night, and the only source of light came from torches below. It was almost a panicked sight. Hundreds of figures below ran around in a state of confusion, jets of light occasionally shooting from various wands. Lily raised her hand hesitantly. She brushed it along what appeared to be a hole in the painting.

"Did someone burn it?" she asked, frowning as she looked at the charred edges. Roxanne nodded. Lucy brushed her aside to examine it for herself, her nervousness evaporating in the light of investigation. Intelligent eyes swept over the portrait.

"Here," she said, her fingers touching the edge of the burn. "It's a bit of green in the night sky. Almost as if there was a symbol painted before that someone burned."

Even Hugo seemed curious. He cleared his throat, squinting to make out the title of the picture. It was written in fancy, looping cursive at the bottom. "_The Castle Crumbles_," he read. "I don't suppose anyone has any idea what that means?"

"I think it's fairly obvious that it's literal," Lucy said, her eyes flicking over the picture. "Hogwarts is literally crumbling. From the style of the picture, I wouldn't say it's more than thirty years old. I imagine it depicts the war."

There was a silence as they all examined it. The burn mark glared sinisterly at Lily. "Real or imagined?" she asked, gesturing to the scene. Roxanne shook her head.

"Real," she said, the light in her eyes burning. "You see the burn mark, there? Someone tried to cover up a symbol."

Understanding shocked Lily to the core. "The green skull," she said numbly. "It must have been part of the war. Our parents," she said, turning to look them all in the eye. "They must know what it is."

A stab of betrayal registered deep in her gut. James and Albus might know as well, for all Lily knew. Maybe she was the only one being kept in the dark. Hugo scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I imagine we probably don't _want_ to know what it is," he pointed out. "If they're keeping it a secret... that's not like them. That skull is bad news."

Lily met his eyes, both of them working out what was happening in their heads. She could see the curiosity warring with his desire to remain uninvolved inside of him. She lay a hand on his arm.

"We'll figure it out," she told him softly. "Don't say anything to Rose yet-"

"Lily Potter?" a voice yelled, surprising her so that she jumped. "My god, it's Lily Potter!" A wizard gazed open mouthed at her. His drink was suspended halfway to his mouth. Lily frantically made shushing noises, her heart rate speeding up.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said urgently. "Would you mind keeping it down? I don't really want-"

"I can't believe I'm actually meeting Harry Potter's daughter!" The wizard went on loudly, drawing the pub's attention. "And who have we got here? Oh my Merlin... it can't be..." His eyes went wide as he took in Hugo, Roxanne and Lucy, all of whom stood frozen. "It's the Weasley kids! Well, some of them," he said, scratching his head. "I expect there's too many of them to fit in one bar."

"Alright," Hugo said between gritted teeth. "We all shove Roxanne in front on three."

Lily jumped as a camera flashed, followed by two other clicks. A dull roar had started, everyone climbing over top of themselves to make introductions. Roxanne grabbed her hand.

"And who was the one that suggested illegally learning to apparate?" she asked rhetorically, eyeing the mass descending on them. "Oh, that's right. It was me." Lily elbowed her cousin in the ribs. Lucy looked at them both exasperatedly.

"Can you be still, you two?" she asked shortly. "I'm trying to think."

Lily blinked as another couple cameras flashed. Dots began to appear in front of her eyes. Hugo made an impatient noise.

"I _hate_ to crash the party," he said. "But we need to get out of here. Right now."

Lily's heart sunk as she realized he was right. More people had crashed through the doors to the pub, gaping open mouthed at the four of them. Lucy shook her hands in frustration.

"I can't think," she announced. "Not with all of those cameras in my face. Ideas, anyone?" Her words were almost drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Paper was shoved towards her, autographs demanded. Lily's head began to spin.

"Don't pass out," Roxanne cautioned. "James will kill Molly for letting you go out, and then the prophet will really have something to talk about."

"That's it!" Lucy said, snapping her fingers. "You're brilliant, Rox!"

Roxanne looked confused. "You think James should kill Molly?"

"I think he should kill _you_," Hugo put in helpfully. "And then kill Molly if he's still angry."

"What we need," Lucy interrupted purposefully, "is to distract the press with something better than us. Then we can slip out and they never need know a thing."

"Alright," Hugo agreed amiably. "Excellent. What's our distraction?"

Lucy shrugged. "I hadn't gotten that far yet," she admitted. Lily held up a hand to shield off a camera thrust in her face. A piece of parchment and a quill were waved in front of her eyes.

She tugged at her hair in frustration, thinking hard. How to distract the reporters? It made sense that one of them should do it while the others snuck out. But that person had to be guaranteed a way out as well. She sighed, turning her head away as another flash went off. The broom on the opposite wall caught her eye.

Something clicked in her head. Her dad had once told her a story of how in his fourth year he had distracted a dragon with his flying for a tournament. While the reporters were certainly no dragon, the concept was the same. And bloody hell, could Lily Potter ever fly.

"Hugo," she muttered in his ear. "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid in about three seconds. Do you think you can get Rox and Lu out of here?"

"Easy," he said immediately. "Meet us back in the Burrow in five or I come back and grab you, alright?" Lily could tell his brain was on autopilot, scanning the room for fireplaces and exits. He had done the same thing when they were younger. She felt her lips curve into a smile.

"Consider me warned," she said. Focusing her attention back on the broom, she flicked her wand minutely. The broom broke away from the wall and landed safely in her hands. Ignoring the astonished looks of her cousins, Lily mounted it and kicked off.

The ceiling was high enough that she could fly safely above the reporter's heads without worrying about them latching onto her ankles. She had to smile at the rush of elation that filled her as she flew. The weightless feeling filled her with happiness. She did a small flip, unable to help a small whoop of excitement from escaping her. The reporters were in an uproar below. Twenty different cameras were trained on her now, clicking madly. Dozens of flashes split the air. The bartender had abandoned washing glasses and was staring at her with his mouth agape. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily watched Hugo drag Rox and Lucy towards the floo. Rox was kicking at his ankles. A stream of curses was barely audible over the crowd.

Lily narrowly dodged the chandelier. She dove about feet five before pulling herself sharply upwards, circling a couple eating at a table. They gaped at her with open mouths. She smiled cheekily before pulling away, beginning her own descent to the floo. Hugo, Rox and Lucy had already gone. Landing, Lily tossed her broom towards the swarm. She could not resist one smug wink before she left, tumbling into the floo and spinning away.

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_A/N: Please take a moment to leave a review! It would make my week. Favourite characters? Quotes? Predictions? _


	5. Two Types of Lecture

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it_

_A/N: Well... I've been studying for exams, and somehow this ended up at the end of my to-do list. Oops. Please enjoy :)_

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Lily tumbled out of the floo for the second time, coughing as she inhaled a mouthful of ash. She grabbed onto the banister to keep from stumbling. A relieved laugh at having dodged the reporters escaped her.

"Did you see their faces?" she asked giddily. "I couldn't- oh."

She cut off as she took in Harry Potter's solemn face. Her father stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the Burrow's living room, silently observing her. There was no sign of Roxanne, Hugo or Lucy. Lily straightened, a feeling of guilty embarrassment rising in her.

"Er - hello, dad," she said awkwardly. "You haven't happened to see Rox around, have you?"

She kept her tone even and polite. Harry crossed the room to take a seat on the sofa. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "She left with George a minute before you arrived," he explained. "Don't bother asking about Hugo or Lucy," he continued, seeing her expression. "Ron and Percy already came by to bring them home. Everyone's gone."

He sounded exhausted. Lily hesitantly sat beside him, a feeling of uncertainty coming over her. "What about Al and mum?" she asked. "Are they at home? Are you done your meeting?"

There was a little resentment in her tone as she spoke. Harry looked at her. "Yes, they went home a little while ago," he said sternly. "And so should you have. Lily, what you did today was incredibly rash. It's not like you to go running off to Diagon Alley without thinking. _Especially_ when you knew that it was important to us that you stay at the Burrow. Your mother was worried sick! After waiting all night for Al... well, she wasn't in the best place."

There was disappointment in his tone. Lily felt a sharp stab of anger register somewhere in her gut. Who was he to judge her decisions when he couldn't be bothered to let her know what was happening? A desire to tell him what she had seen in Diagon Alley rose up inside of her, but was quickly quashed. It would do her no good.

"I'm sorry, dad," she said, her eyes downcast. "We were bored. It was right after Al brought Scorpius home and I guess I just didn't think. I didn't mean to upset you or mum."

She held her father's gaze until he stood. He seemed to accept her apology. "Scorpius is going to be staying the next couple days before you return to Hogwarts," Harry told her. "I know that you don't care for him much, but please try to be cordial, Lils."

His voice had taken on a pleading tone. Lily tasted sourness in her mouth. "I will if he behaves himself," she said stonily. "His manners most of the time are similar to an angry hippogriff."

Harry gave a reluctant smile. "He certainly can be his father's son," he agreed. "But he needs somewhere to stay, and your mother seems to quite like him anyways." His tone was almost surprised.

Lily couldn't help but pout. "Why can't he stay with his own family?" she asked. "Let me guess. The diamonds in the chandelier hurt his eyes?" She stood as well.

Any humor in her father's tone evaporated. Harry looked at her seriously. "Lily," he said solemnly. "You will not bring that up with him. Do you understand?"

His eyes were grave. Lily was taken aback. She thought of the superiority that Scorpius seemed to exude, the casual manner in which he insulted people. Could it possible that he might have a flaw in his pride? "Yes," she said finally. "I won't say anything."

Harry nodded. He looked slightly relieved. "Good," he said. "Let's go then." He offered her his arm. Lily took it, closing her eyes as the feeling of squeezing through a tunnel began. It lasted only a moment before she appeared with a pop in the middle of the Potter's yard. She smiled at her dad, squeezing his arm before detaching herself.

Up ahead, Albus let out a whoop of excitement as he tossed a quaffle through a make-shift hoop. James appeared to have shouted something at him, chucking what was unmistakably a beater's bat at his brother's head. Scorpius was weaving lazily after a flash of gold.

Harry followed her gaze to where the boy's hovered up ahead. "Why don't you go and join them?" he asked, picking up a nearby broom and tossing it at her. "I wanted to talk to your mum about something anyways."

Lily bit her lip. The war between avoiding Scorpius and the desire to fly raged within her. "I don't know," she hedged. "I doubt they want me up there."

"Lily Potter!" James called from up ahead, yelling to be heard over Albus's string of curses. "Get your lazy arse up here! We need another person for two-on-two!" He ducked as Albus hurled the quaffle at him.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Go on," he urged her. "You can reassure your mother that you're alive later."

Lily felt the comfortable weight of the broom in the palm of her hand. It thrummed with a life force that was intoxicating. She glanced at it. "You're sure?" she checked. "A moment ago, Mum was ready to tear me apart with the force of a thousand cornish pixies."

Harry gave her a small smile. "I'll restrain her," he promised. "Now go on."

That was all the encouragement Lily needed. Swinging one leg over the broom, she kicked off into the air. Her hair flew in wild tangles around her as she flew. Red strands danced in front of her eyes as she grinned, looping her way in a tight circle around Albus. Her brother smirked at her.

"Hey, sis," he said. "Heard you made a public appearance at the Leaky Cauldron. Why wasn't I invited?" His tone was teasing but there was a curious glint in his eye. Lily shrugged.

"Not enough foresight, I guess," she offered. "I'm sure you can read a recap in the prophet tomorrow if you'd like." The bitter edge to her tone was only slight. If they were covering her, at least she would be flying.

"Oi!" James called from across the pitch. "Are you two playing or what?" Lily turned to see that both him and Scorpius were both hovering in anticipation on the other side of the pitch. Lily looked at her brother exasperatedly.

"Really, James," she admonished him. "A true gentlemen always lets a lady call the teams."

"I don't see your point," Scorpius smirked. "There's no lady here."

Lily grabbed a bat from James' hand and threw it hard at the blonde's head. Scorpius barely had time to roll out of the way before it went flying past him. Lily shrugged delicately. "Sorry, Scorpius," she said sweetly. "I think your bat flew away. Why don't you go and get it, and I'll call teams?"

The blonde smirked lazily at her. His eyes trailed over her face. "If you want to be on my team that badly," he told her charmingly, "you could have just said so. No need to get angry about it."

Lily watched with growing irritation as he flew away like a bullet. He executed a fancy dive, catching the bat mid-air. She growled low in her throat. "Alright," she said shortly. "James and I, Albus and Scorpius. No keepers, one seeker. Got it?"

Her brothers nodded, readying themselves by the goalposts. Both played more defensive strategies than offensive. Lily grinned. She had the advantage of knowing Albus' game plan. Scorpius flew into sight, not looking remotely tired. She couldn't help but smile deviously.

"Right," she said, kicking the quaffle up. "Game on."

xxxxxxx

Lily unclasped her gear in the small garden, tossing it carelessly into a pile. She tilted a nearby pitcher upwards and allowed the cool water to run over her fiery hair. Scorpius looked at her lazily, carrying his broom towards the house.

"No matter how much you try, Potter," he called, "the water won't put that mess out!" He wiped his own sweaty brow before saluting her with a smirk.

Lily went immediately for her wand. James' hand shot out reflexively, catching her wrist. He gave her a long look. "Easy," he commanded. "It's better to ignore him."

Lily couldn't help but snort, watching as Scorpius and Al shed their own gear in the kitchen. She looked back at James in disgust. "And when did you get so damned responsible?" she asked, tossing her knee guards viciously to the ground. "It's unnerving."

James shrugged. He grabbed her discarded pitcher, taking a short swig. "The satisfaction of our win masks my urge to kill him," he said. "Besides, Mum adores him. She might disown me if I so much as gave him a dirty look."

"But you don't _like_ him," Lily stressed. "Nobody does! Honestly, I don't know how Al can stand him."

She slung her broom over her back, deftly unlocking the shed. James trailed her with his own gear. "They're both Slytherin,." he reminded her off-handedly. "And though Al doesn't seem like the conniving, cut-throat type, the difference is that he _could_ be if he wanted to. Personalities attract."

He shoved his guards onto the shelf. Lily frowned as they sprawled messily across the row, spilling over the edge. She placed her own broom neatly in.

"Do you think Gryffindor's could be conniving?" she asked carefully, refusing to meet his eyes. "If it was for a cause, say. If they thought they were doing the right thing."

She forced herself to look at James. His eyebrows had knitted together, but his eyes were filled with emotion. It was a Gryffindor trait he retained. "I don't think so," he said bluntly. "It's not in our nature. Not in the same way."

His tone held a hint of something Lily couldn't identify. Her mind flashed to her conversation with Molly, her cousin's disbelieving tone after Lily had confessed her thoughts on James' knowledge. _Probably by eavesdropping_, Molly had said disapprovingly. _Merlin knows why else they would tell him_.

But would James keep a secret if he knew it was important enough? She held her brother's gaze for a moment more before turning towards the house, shutting the door to the shed behind her.

"So," Lily said slowly. "What did you want to talk to Grandma Molly about the other day?"

She held her breath as James hesitated. His steps faltered before regaining rhythm. "Just some Ministry stuff." he said shortly. "Louis was going to stop by, but he got detained at work."

There was a small tone of deception in his voice that Lily picked out easily. A surge of irritation rose within her. "Right," she said, flinging out a hand to grab her brother's shirt. "That's it."

Ignoring his protests, Lily dragged him doggedly to the left of the back door away from the windows. She shoved him roughly into the small space. James narrowed his eyes.

"Bloody hell, Lils," he complained, rubbing his neck. "I realize you don't care for Scorpius much, but leave me out of your mad schemes to avoid him."

Lily crossed her arms. Though she stood a foot shorter than him, she had inherited their mother's temperament. James shrunk back slightly as she jabbed a finger at his chest.

"Louis," she said between clenched teeth, "spent the day with Molly. Like he spends most days with Molly. Which means," she continued angrily, "that he wasn't at work, James! I expected lies from Mum and Dad, but you?" She shook her head at him. "I expected more from _you_."

Her gaze burned into him. James looked at her guiltily. "I didn't know how to protect you," he said uncertainly. "I _still_ don't know how to protect you. You're my little sister, Lils."

His eyes were hurt as he looked at her. Lily was reminded of a child having been scolded. She sighed, leaning into the wall. "You shouldn't have to protect me, James," she said. "I'm sixteen now! That's older than you were when you decided you wanted to be a curse breaker. Older than Al was when he told Mum that he asked the hat if he could be in Slytherin. It's old enough," she continued, "to understand. If you know something about what's going on, just tell me."

There was a war waging in James' eyes. He shifted restlessly, as if debating something. "Alright," he said, "here's what you need to know-"

"Lily Potter!" Ginny Weasley called out the back door, causing both James and Lily to jump. "You come inside right now and explain yourself!"

Her voice was stern. James made to move but Lily pushed him back, frowning and roughly covering his mouth with the palm of her hand. She tilted her head and silently counted. _One, two, three, four..._

"Lily Luna Potter!" Her mother shouted again. "You can't hide from me, young lady. Come inside before I send the boys out after you!"

Wincing at the thought of Scorpius Malfoy searching for her, Lily stepped reluctantly from her hiding spot. James followed her sheepishly. "Yes, Mum," she said dutifully.

Ginny eyed them both in surprise. Her gaze flicked across both of their faces. "What were you two doing out here?" she asked shrewdly. "Albus said you were done a while ago."

Her tone held an edge of accusation. Lily forcefully refrained from looking at James, who was staring fixedly at the door. "Just talking," she said, shrugging. "I hardly see James anymore. I wanted to hear how he was doing. If there were any new ladies, how work was, if he was taking his vitamins... things like that."

Her voice held an edge of sarcasm that often got her in trouble. Ginny, however, didn't comment. She nodded, her posture relaxing slightly.

"James," she said softly. "I think your dad wanted to speak with you - he's upstairs in his office."

The dismissal was clear in her tone. James nodded briefly before shooting one last look at Lily and sliding through the door. Frustration bubbled up inside of her as he left. She had been so _close_. Ginny gestured for her to take a seat on the steps beside her.

"Your father told me what happened," she said pointedly. "Lily, was this really all about hating Scorpius?"

Ginny prompted her with her eyes. Lily felt her blood freeze. Her nails bit into her palms in her cupped hands. "What do you mean?" she asked carefully.

Ginny gave her a small smile. "Believe it or not, I know exactly what you're thinking," she told her. "I went through something similar once."

Lily's heart began to pound. She could hear her pulse beating against her head. "You did?" she asked hoarsely.

Ginny laughed. "Merlin, yes," she admitted. "But Lily, you're a smart girl. A little irrational and headstrong sometimes, but your father and I have a huge amount of trust in you. I know what your going through might seem hard right now, but it will all work itself out."

A feeling of uncertainty swept over Lily. "Mum," she said carefully, "are you going to tell Dad? About my situation?"

She hoped that her words came out firm. Her mother didn't appear to notice anything out of the ordinary. Ginny put a hand to her heart. "Of course not!" she said, her voice bemused. "I know how difficult it is to be in love with your older brother's best friend, Lily. I won't tell anyone."

Lily frowned, unable to comprehend what her mother was saying. In love with her older brother's best friend? The last time she had checked, James' best friend was Fred. But what had her mother said? _Was this really all about _hating _Scorpius_?

Lily sat bolt upright. "Oh, no Mum!" she protested wildly. "I am not in love with Scorpius Malfoy! Oh gross," she said, flinching. "I cannot believe I just used the words 'love' and 'Scorpius Malfoy' in one sentence."

Ginny appeared taken aback. "So James wasn't giving you a hard time about it earlier?" she asked in confusion. "I thought-"

"Mum," Lily said firmly. "I do not fancy Scorpius. I actually wish he would fall off the edge of the earth most days. Trust me, that is not the problem at all."

She realized her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. Ginny frowned, her nose scrunching up. "Then what is the problem, Lils?" she asked. "Surely Scorpius didn't scare you off that easily."

Her eyes had switched from maternal to calculating in an instant. Lily let her hair fall around her face to hide her expression. Cursing mentally, she shook her head.

"It's just- I've been having nightmares," she invented randomly. "Bad ones. I can't sit still without thinking about them."

This was partially true. Her dreams had not contained much more than violence and flashes of a green light lately. Ginny's hand automatically reached out to smooth her hair. "About that mark in the sky?" she demanded. "What are they about? Does your father know? Does your forehead hurt?"

Lily looked at her incredulously. "Does my _forehead _hurt?" she echoed. "What has that got to do with anything?"

Ginny bit her lip guiltily. Her expression said she had clearly gave too much away. "Force of habit," she said dismissively. "Now tell me what they've been about."

Her tone said that this was clearly not an option. Lily swung her legs nervously, tapping her hand on her trousers. "The green skull," she said truthfully. "I keep flashing back to that night. Only, it's not quite the same - there's more people in my dream. And a lot of them..." she paused, steeling herself. "They're dead. Most of them."

She glanced up from her lap. A couple seconds passed as Ginny held herself completely still, her mouth pressed firmly into a line. She appeared to be holding back tears.

"You tell me straight away if you have any more nightmares, alright Lily?" she said finally. "Straight away. Don't tell your father - it'll only worry him."

Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glinted as she regarded Lily. A feeling of suspicion rose up inside of her. She nodded slowly. "You have my word," she said, crossing her fingers behind her back.

Ginny looked relieved. "They say you aren't a fighter, Lils," she said softly. "But I see a lot of me in you. Still, I hope that you don't need to do some of the things that I did."

Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. Lily instinctively reached a comforting hand towards her. "Mum?" she asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Ginny gave her a watery smile that matched her Grandmother's, wiping viciously at her eyes. She put an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Come on," she said, guiding her towards the house. "You need to pack. The Hogwarts Express is scheduled to leave early tomorrow morning and Merlin knows the boys need some encouragement."

xxxxx

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	6. A Dysfunctional Team

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling_

_A/N: For all of those who have been patiently waiting, I'm sorry this took so long to get up. It's been crazy with end-of-the-year stuff, but here it is. So please enjoy!_

xxxxx

Lily slammed her fist onto the seat beside her, causing the pile of chocolate frog wrappers to spill over the edge and onto the floor. She looked in disbelief at the paper lying in front of her.

A blown-up picture of herself looping around the ceiling in the Leaky Cauldron stared back at her. The headline read _Presenting Potter; Lily Looks for the Limelight_, and from what she could see, the article wasn't much nicer. Lily crinkled her nose in disgust. Seeing her expression, Roxanne reached across her to grab the newspaper and deftly threw it out the train's window.

"There," she said in satisfaction, watching as the sheets flew out of sight. "That solves that. It wasn't the most flattering shot of you anyways." She reached for the package of Bertie Bott's beans before considering one and popping it into her mouth. Lily scowled.

"Yes," she said sourly, "the lighting was definitely off, wasn't it? I'll have to be ready for my close-up next time they hunt me down." Hugo eyed her grimly from across the compartment.

"You knew they weren't going to have anything nice to say," he reminded her. "They never do." He stole the package of beans from Roxanne before throwing two or three into his mouth. Lily shook her head wordlessly at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lucy shoot Hugo an admonishing look.

"Don't listen to them, Lily," Lucy said sympathetically. "Honestly, it took a lot of nerve, what you did back there. We would have been swarmed otherwise."

Lily shook her head again. "All they see now is a child desperate for fame," she said peevishly. "_Lily Loves the Good Life,_ or _Potter Proves She's Perfect _or-"

"_Reminiscence of A World-Renowned Redhead's Rage_?" Roxanne suggested innocently. Lily turned to glare at her. Sensing trouble, Hugo cut in.

"Who wrote it, anyway?" he asked, stretching his feet out onto Lucy's lap. "I didn't get a chance to see the article before Rox threw it out of a speeding train's window."

Roxanne appeared unabashed. "The place was too cluttered," she explained. "It screamed for re-decorating."

"Rita Skeeter," Lucy said, ignoring Roxanne altogether. "She was a flourishing author right before the first war. It sounds like she's trying to make a comeback."

"Rita Skeeter?" Lily asked, sitting up abruptly. "I know that name. Dad talks about her sometimes."

"Not so much talking involved, actually," Albus said, causing them all to swivel to face the door as he threw himself into a seat beside Hugo. "But he does yell about her a lot. I reckon he doesn't care for her much."

"The woman does have some beautiful metaphors and parallels, though," Scorpius announced, clutching his heart as trailed in behind Albus. "_The pain one must endure in the yearning for fame is indescribable, though a serrated knife being twisted in your gut certainly compares._ _The desire for glory burns within Ms. Potter's eyes like the force of a hundred hippogriffs_-"

"You didn't seriously memorize the whole article, did you?" Rose asked, shutting the compartment door neatly behind her as she slid in beside Lily. "It was nearly two pages long." Scorpius let out a long sigh.

"Only the parts that spoke to the inner pain I suffer," he said sadly. "And I liked the part about the hippogriffs, so I threw that in as well."

"Right, that's it." Lily stood up, pointing to the door. "Get out. All three of you." She regarded them sternly. Rose looked hurt.

"Even me?" she asked. Hugo pulled a face.

"Especially you," he said firmly, saving Lily from answering. "You're my sister and you smell. Get out." Rose looked annoyed, swinging her red hair behind her as she turned to glare at her brother.

"I do not smell," she said irritably. "I shower, and bathe. Things like sewers smell, or rubbish smells, or- or Scorpius' smells-" The blonde boy grinned.

"Only like flowers and sunshine." Lily let out an irritated huff.

"Is there a _reason _you all came in here?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Roxanne did the same, looking as if she might strangle Scorpius at any given moment.

"Actually," Al said calmly, searching their expressions. "There is."

Lily felt shivers go down her back. She didn't like her brother's solemn expression. It reminded her of the time when she was younger and he had to tell her the family pet Pygmy Puff, Arnold, had died. Lily had cried for a week.

"Al?" she asked, a hint of fear entering her voice. "What is it? What's wrong?" Albus just shook his head, evidently not knowing how to begin. Lily's eyes flicked to where Scorpius sat. He looked bored, but a pulse jumped in his throat.

"We want to know what you found out in the Leaky Cauldron," Rose said finally. Lily almost jumped out of her skin, turning to look quickly at the others. Hugo's hand had formed into a fist and Roxanne had sat up a little straighter. Lucy looked positively alarmed.

"Ah," Scorpius said, his eyes aglow. "What did I say, Al? They may not be Slytherins, but some of them have the heart of one." His eyes lingered on Lily as he spoke. She felt her expression twist into a scowl. Roxanne didn't look much happier.

"We were getting drinks," she said flatly, looking Albus square in the eye. "That's what people go to pubs for, Al."

"Not you, though." It was Rose who spoke this time, her voice thoughtful. "Don't bother lying to me, Rox. I hang out with two Slytherins - I've learned to become perceptive." She stared hard at her cousin, as if she could will the truth out of her. Lucy put a hand on Roxanne's shoulder.

"Hey," she said softly, turning toward Rose. "Why don't we all calm down a little, alright? These last couple days have been hard on everyone." Her eyes betrayed a hint of pain. Lily felt a pang of guilt go through her. She had forgotten that Molly - Lucy's sister - had been the one to let them go in the first place. She sincerely hoped that she hadn't gotten in too much trouble for it.

There was a beat of silence as they all collected themselves. Then, "It was the castle picture, wasn't it?" Albus asked quietly. "That's what you went in for."

And all mayhem broke loose.

"How in Merlin's name do _you_ know about that?" Roxanne demanded, her eyes narrowing. "I had to pull every Weasley trick in the god damn book to get that information and you just- you just-"

"Rose!" Hugo protested, throwing his sister a dark look. "How could you just sit by and not say anything? I'm your _brother-"_

"You _knew_?" Lily asked, turning to face Albus. "You and James both knew something was up, and here I am, waltzing around the pub-"

"I wanted to tell you!" Albus pleaded, holding his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Honestly, I did, Lily. But-"

"But what?" Lily demanded, her voice rising an octave. "You thought you'd wait to warn me until _after_ I made headlines?"

"We wanted to check it out first," Albus said defensively, appealing with his eyes to Scorpius and Rose. "We didn't know you were planning to just stroll in for a drink or two! We've been trying to strategize for weeks, working on tactics and ideas-"

"Weeks!" Lily's voice had rose to a yell. "You and James and Rose and Scorpius have known about this for weeks?"

"Well, if you want to be specific, it was two weeks and four days," Scorpius said dryly. "Plus how many ever hours have passed since nine this morning. It's difficult to do math when you're yelling like that."

Lily ignored him pointedly, choosing instead to glare at her brother. "That night you didn't come home after the attack on Hogwarts," she said, forcing Albus to look at her. "You were out doing something, weren't you? Finding out more information?"

He shrugged. "That's what we've been trying to do," he explained gruffly. "Piece things together. We're talking to everyone who might be able to help us, starting with the easiest people to reach. Family members, close friends and relatives... James mentioned that he ran into you on his way to see what he could get out of Grandma Molly."

Lily put her head against the cool window, allowing the information to soak in. She shivered, picturing the panic, fear and emotion put into the castle picture hanging in the Leaky Cauldron. Did she really want to know anymore about it?

Sensing her distress, Lucy reached over to squeeze her hand. "What have you found out?" her cousin asked cautiously. "About the first war?" Al shifted uncomfortably, shooting Rose a guarded look. She waved him away impatiently before turning to face Lucy.

"Not much," she admitted, ignoring Albus' look of warning. "We know the basics of it - the year it happened, who was involved, where it went down. Those things are easier to find. But the reasons behind it, and our parents' roles are much more difficult. We were hoping that the picture in the Leaky Cauldron might help."

She looked at them expectantly and Lily realized it was their turn to talk. She tried to open her mouth, but found it only to be glued firmly shut. Luckily, Lucy took over.

"It was called _The Castle Crumbles_," she explained simply. "I'd say that's pretty literal. It was... graphic." She hesitated over the last word, tossing a glance at Lily. Rose leaned forward, interest piqued.

"Were there any runes?" she asked curiously. "Dates, of any sort? Symbols?" Her eyes wandered over to where Lily sat. Lily exchanged a short glance with Hugo, who nodded. She took a deep breath.

"The skull," she tried, pleased to find her throat still worked. "The green skull we saw that night the castle was attacked. It had been burned out of the picture."

Scorpius swore fiercely under his breath, displaying an uncharacteristic amount of concern. "I told you," he said, turning to face Rose. "If we had only gone sooner, we could have looked closer-"

"Scorpius." Rose's voice carried a sharp edge to it. "We should count it as a blessing that we didn't go at all. Can you imagine what people would say if they saw you around the burnt painting, knowing who your family is?" There was an anxious pause as the two of them glared at each other, having a silent conversation with their eyes.

"I'm not my family," Scorpius said shortly. "You should know that by now." Rose's eyes softened slightly.

"I know you're not," she said quietly. Turning to face the others she added, "And we're not either. We aren't going to keep secrets from each other like our parents did for us, alright? We're a team now. We tell each other everything." She looked at them all seriously. Hugo cracked a small smile.

"You really want to hear about every girl I snog, Rose?" he asked bemusedly. Lily swore the corners of Rose's mouth turned up before she resumed a blank face.

"I don't think that'll be a problem," she said seriously, "considering that you've never snogged any." Hugo flicked his wrist, sending a chocolate frog sailing at his sister's head.

"I swear to tell you absolutely everything," he announced, crossing his heart. "With the exception of every time I copy your old charms papers."

"That would be _my_ charms papers, actually," Lucy corrected him. "And I'm in as well."

"Me too," Roxanne agreed, her lips quirking. "It's going to be one hell of a ride."

All of them turned to look at Lily expectantly. She averted her eyes. "Lily?" Rose asked patiently. "What about you?"

Lily sighed. She turned to look at Scorpius. "I want you to promise me that you're not going to screw me over," she said shortly.

Because even if she wanted to murder him half the time and seriously maim or injure him the rest of it, she knew that out of everyone he was the most likely not to lie to her face. Scorpius could be insulting and annoying and generally a terror and a prat, but he was not a liar.

To his credit, he didn't blink twice. "I'm not going to screw you over," he said bluntly. Lily nodded, turning back to the others.

"I'm in."

xxxxxxx

"Honestly, Hugo." Rose gave her brother a look of disgust as she passed the Gryffindor table, pausing to swipe at Hugo with a napkin. "Couldn't you at least try to eat like a human being?"

Hugo glared at his sister. "'s tfo 'ood." He batted the napkin away, swinging blindly.

Rose crinkled her nose. "Can someone translate please?"

"Here." Lily smirked, attacking Hugo with the serviette. "I'll make sure he doesn't choke to death on his dinner roll." Hugo scowled but wisely made no move to stop her administrations.

"Sometimes I worry for him," Rose admitted. "It doesn't take a Ravenclaw to figure out how to eat."

Lily shrugged. "I wouldn't be too concerned. James still hasn't." She finished wiping Hugo's face with a flourish, grinning brightly. "There! All done." She turned to Rose. "Don't worry. I can always have Roxanne feed him or something."

"Only with my fist," her cousin chirped brightly, looking up from her mashed potatoes. Lily thumped her on the back.

"See? Completely under control," she assured Rose. The red-head bit her lip.

"Alright," she agreed. "But you're owling my mum and dad if he dies halfway through dinner."

"Done."

Lily waved as Rose departed, settling in amongst a group of chattering seventh year Ravenclaw girls. Hugo pulled a face.

"It's like she thinks I'm incompetent," he complained. "Merlin, I don't know how we're going to work together on this thing with the w-"

"Hugo." Lucy leaned across the table. Her voice was soft and admonishing. "Not here." She shot an anxious gaze toward where Lorcan and Lysander sat a couple seats over. Hugo rolled his eyes.

"Lighten up, Luce." He bit into his roll, spewing crumbs as he spoke. "It's not like we're planning a top-secret mission. We're just looking for some information."

"Yeah, but it's not exactly in the library, is it?" Lucy bit her lip nervously.

Lily shot up, her fist slamming against the table. Dishes shuddered, pots of stew shaking and slopping over the edge. Several first-years down the table jumped. "That's it!"

"Really?" Roxanne crinkled her nose. "I think I just lost a sickle."

"What?" Lily was momentarily sidetracked. Roxanne looked disappointed.

"I told Fred it would take years for you to finally have had enough of Hugo's disgusting dinner table manners," she sighed. "I mean, yes, he eats like a troll with unicorn blood in its eyes, but your patience level-"

"No." Lily shook her head. "Not that part. I was thinking about what Lucy said, with the library." Lucy gave her a confused look.

"The library." She tapped her chin. Her eyes had lit up with understanding. "You think that there's something there." Lucy's voice was full of grudging admiration. Lily could see that her mind was going a million miles an hour.

"What?" Hugo laughed, looking at all of their faces. "In the _library_?"

"For once I have to agree with Hugo," Roxanne admitted. "They're not just going to lump a book based on a war beside Babbity Rabbity and the Cackling Stump."

"I never said they were." Lily leaned forward, checking around. The others glanced about uneasily. Lily drew a breath. "I think," she said carefully, "that there's probably a book we could use in the restricted section."

Just as she knew it would, her suggestion set off a firecracker of emotion.

"_What_?" Lucy's eyes were saucer plates and she glanced about nervously, as if just talking about it would get them in trouble. "_Lily_," she hissed. "It's the restricted section! If we were caught, we would be in so much trouble..."

"Are you sure?" Hugo's voice was calm and controlled. "Lily, if you're sure, we have to go."

Roxanne appeared to be doing a mid-dinner war dance involving both clapping and singing. "_Restricted section eat our dust! We're too young for your rust! Peeves can try and give us sass, but we'll tell him to kiss our-_"

"Okay!" Lily held up her hands, making shushing motions with her hands. "Alright. I get it." She waited until they had quieted before continuing. "Look, there's no doubt that this is definitely against school rules. I can't promise anything if we're caught." She gave Lucy a purposeful look here. "And no, I'm not sure, but I have a good feeling about this. Plus, we'll have Rose with us and she can navigate the library faster than anyone I know."

She decided to leave out the fact that Rose had most likely never contemplated going into the restricted section of the library, let alone know how it was laid out. Roxanne had a manic glint in her eye as she looked at all of them.

"Well, we know that with Al we have the invisibility cloak-"

"Oi!" Lily turned to her, crossing her arms. "How do you know about that?"

Roxanne shrugged, waving her hand impatiently. "Fred and James used to take it out sometimes. I got it out of him eventually. But that's not important-"

"Yes it is!" Lily argued. "I didn't find out about that until last year, and here you've just been galavanting around-"

"Lily." Roxanne's entire body was tense with excitement. "Do you want to steal top secret files about evil snakes and war, or not?"

Hugo shot her a look to say that he would very much _not_ like to. Lucy looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Lily swallowed, nodding at her cousin. "Go on."

"Right," Roxanne said. "So two, maybe three of us can sneak in first under the cloak. They'll be the scouts; trip any alarms, check for Peeves, things like that. Then the rest of us can follow and set up the wards-"

"Wards?" This time it was Hugo interrupting. His eyebrows had shot into his hairline. Roxanne nodded.

"Trip spells, silencing charms, any magic that would allow us to stall, prevent or reveal an intruder."

"Aren't _we_ the intruders?" Lily asked reasonably. Roxanne waved her hand again.

"Minor details."

"Okay." It was the first time Lucy had spoke and they all turned toward her. She looked slightly green. "So you want to break into the restricted section, find forbidden information, and then steal it and leave, right?"

"Er, yeah." Hugo scratched his head. "That sounds about accurate, actually." Lucy was definitely turning green now.

"Alright." Her voice was slightly higher than normal. "Yeah, okay. Let's do this. I can do this."

Lily felt a flash of guilt. "Hey," she said gently, laying an arm on her cousin's shoulder. "Just remember that Rose is doing this too. If she says that this is okay, then this is okay."

Lucy let out her breath. Pink was slowly returning to her face. "You're right," she agreed. "If Rose is doing this, then so can I."

"Er, I hate to rain on your parade," Hugo cut in. "But has anyone actually mentioned this to Rose?"

Silence. Lily's eyes flicked to where her cousin sat at the Ravenclaw, laughing. It was clear that she was blissfully unaware of their plan.

"Not yet." Lily pulled her eyes back to the three in front of her. "But I'll mention it to Al on my way out from dinner, and you three find Rose, yeah?"

There was an awkward pause as all of them seemed to realize the omission in her words. Lily kept her gaze steely as the other three floundered around the subject. Lucy's eyes cut pointedly to the Slytherin table. Lily sighed.

"Alright." Her tone was grouchy. "I'll mention it to Scorpius too."

Three faces split into relieved smiles. "Thanks, Lilsy," Hugo said, kissing her smack on the forehead. "You're the best."

"Yeah, yeah," Lily said, but she smiled as she rubbed at her forehead. "So I've been told by various reporters."

The noise in the hall suddenly died down to a low buzz. Lily looked up as Headmaster McGonogall began her speech. Her face was pinched and tired. Lily noticed that she didn't mention anything to do with the green skull or the panic that had happened a couple days ago. Judging by the look on Hugo's face, he had as well.

"I suppose they're keeping it hushed up?" he asked bitterly. "Listen to them. Promising safety and happiness without letting us have the slightest idea of what's going on. And they all believe her." His face was dark. Lily put a finger to her lips before turning back to face the front. She could immediately see that Hugo had a point. A dropping sensation went through the pit of her stomach.

Professor Longbottom and Mcgonogall were exchanging nervous glances as she spoke, and neither looked remotely convinced of her words.

xxxx

_Please, please review! As an early graduation present for me?_


	7. To Hatch a Plan

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!

_A/N: _Alright, I'll come clean. I suck at updating; still, thank-you all for sticking around. The best is yet to come!

xxxx

Lily shuffled her feet, staring up at the huge wooden doors. She had always hated the Slytherin common room; the whole dungeon area smelled of must and stale water from the lake above. The lanterns bathed everything in an eerie green that made her skin crawl. It was otherworldly and silent, another world from the cozy, boisterous Gryffindor common room.

She raised her hand to the knocker, pounding three times. It opened almost immediately. A petite girl with long dark hair stood in the doorway, her arms crossed. Her ice blue eyes raked Lily's face before narrowing. Her mouth twisted into a glare.

"Who is it, Porella?" a voice called. The girl tossed her hair.

"Just a Gryff." Her tone was cool and unimpressed. "I don't know how it found the common room, though."

Lily felt her temper flare. Hot anger surged through her veins. "Perhaps you need better security," she suggested. The girl laughed. It was hard and grating.

"I am the security," Porella said immodestly. Lily clenched her hands into fists.

"As I said, perhaps you should look into an upgrade."

Porella rocked back as if Lily had slapped her. She could hear someone laughing from inside the common room. Cat calls and jeers were heard from farther in. Porella bared her teeth.

"I know who you are." She looked at Lily smugly. "You're the Potter girl. Albus' sister." The implication in her tone was clear. _You're the one the prophet says is crazy._

Lily looked at her sharply. "That's right."

She could see the calculating look in Porella's eyes. The girl smiled, slow and sharp. "It looks like you just missed him. Even the famous Potter's must attend detention." Her eyes danced. Lily felt her fingers twitch with the urge to strike her.

"Actually," she said loudly, "I'm here to see Scorpius."

There was a tick of silence. She was momentarily gratified to see the stunned look on Porella's face. "_Scorpius_?" the girl echoed in disbelief. "Scorpius Malfoy?" Lily felt her lips twitch into a smirk.

"Do you need a blood sample, or can you let me in now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Porella's expression hardened and she shook her head.

"No. No Gryff's allowed."

"Oh, c'mon, Porella." A tall boy appeared behind her, peering curiously at Lily. His eyes were a startling liquid gold. "Let the girl in."

Porella shot him an icy glare. "That's not your call, Talc," she said waspishly. "She could be a threat."

"Doesn't look like much to me." He shrugged, leaning against the doorframe. His brown hair fell into his eyes carelessly. "But if you're worried that she could take all of us, wandless by the looks of it, then be my guest. Don't let her in."

Lily had to admire his skill. If Porella backed down now, she would have to let Lily into the common room. If Porella remained true to her decision, she would look like a coward. Porella seemed to have realized this as well. She shot Talc a dark look.

"We'll talk about this later," she said in a low voice. Turning back to Lily, she added, "You have half an hour. Talc will show you where he is."

She shot Lily one last dirty look before disappearing back into the main common room. Lily let out a low whistle.

"Is she always like that?" she asked. Talc nodded.

"Yeah, but you get used to it," he said. "It's more like background noise now." Lily jumped, startled. She had forgotten who she was speaking to. Talc offered her a smile. "You were here to talk to Scorpius, right?"

"Er, sort of." Lily shrugged sheepishly. "I was here to talk to my brother, actually, but I can just give Scorpius a message or something." She looked at him entreatingly. Talc chuckled.

"You're not very easy to say no to, are you?" he asked. He waved his hand at her protests. "Never mind, you wouldn't have been able to get past Porella otherwise."

"I don't think I could have without your help," Lily admitted. Talc studied her, his gold eyes sweeping across her face.

"Exactly. You're hard to say no to." He began to walk down the hall, glancing back once to make sure she was following. "Speaking of which, have you managed to convince your cousin to let you on the quidditch team this year?"

"I- what?" Lily asked, stumbling a little. Talc looked amused.

"That red-headed cousin of yours is captain, right?"

"Yeah, Hugo," Lily said, trying to make sense of the conversation. "Why wouldn't he let me on the quidditch team?"

Talc's eyes glinted with mirth. "He seems like the type of bloke to throw any guy within a mile of you or your other cousins through a window," he said seriously. "I can't imagine he's too pleased with you playing something as dangerous as quidditch."

Lily shook her head. "He knows I can fly. He's not worried."

"So you will be on the team, then?" Talc asked. Lily's eyes narrowed.

"You're the Slytherin quidditch captain this year, aren't you?" she asked shrewdly. "That's why you want to know. You're checking out the competition."

Talc didn't look the least bit embarrassed. "Half the game of quidditch is physical and half the game is strategy," he said unabashedly. "We're going to have a fool-proof plan this year. So long as Porella learns to co-operate."

They stopped outside a dark wooden door with the number four engraved in silvery writing. Green emeralds were encrusted randomly through-out. Lily blinked. On closer inspection, the silver appeared to be moving.

"They're snakes," Talc explained, following her gaze. "We have them on all of our doors." He reached up a hand to pinch one and it hissed, curling itself into a ball so that the four was lopsided. Lily squinted in disbelief.

"Oh." She tilted her head, examining one closely. "Do they bite?"

"Only when they're angry." Talc offered her a wan smile. "Do you want me to knock?"

"No, it's fine." Lily swallowed, glancing at the snakes nervously. "I can do it. Gryffindor bravery and all." She offered him a weak smile.

"Alright," he agreed. He began to walk away, pausing to glance at her over his shoulder. "And Lily?" She shot him a questioning look. He winked. "Don't listen to Porella. You're welcome to stay longer if you need."

Lily smiled. "Thanks, Talc." She watched as he disappeared around the corner, whistling as he went. She drew a deep breath before refocusing on the door. The snakes circled ominously. The green emerald watched her with a steely eye as she knocked.

No answer. Lily knocked again, louder this time. She was preparing to knock a third time when the door flew open, revealing a rumpled Scorpius. His blonde hair was tousled and his tie was askew. His cloak had been abandoned completely.

"The last time I checked, stalking is frowned upon," he said. He leaned against the doorjamb, looking not surprised in the least to see her. Lily resisted the urge to immediately shut the door in his face.

"The last time I checked, enslaving humans as guard dogs was illegal."

"Porella got to you, then." He gave her a lazy smile, crossing his arms. "You can't blame the poor girl. She has issues with me dating people."

"We are _not together_," Lily hissed. Scorpius's smile grew even wider.

"And yet here you are, outside of my bedroom door late in the evening," he said offhandedly. "The facts don't lie, Potter."

Lily felt her lip curl in disgust. "I would rather date the giant squid than you, Malfoy."

Scorpius went on as if he hadn't heard her. "I wouldn't be too hard on yourself," he advised, giving her a charming smile. "It is difficult to be around me."

"Mostly because I want to pummel you with a qudditch bat," Lily muttered. Scorpius cupped a hand to his ear.

"Pardon? I didn't quite catch that."

"I said that if you don't invite me in, I'm leaving." The blonde made no move. Lily rolled her eyes. "Let me in, Scorpius. I'm serious." She glared at him. He raised his hands innocently.

"Well," he said. "I suppose if you want into my bedroom so badly..." He stepped aside, shutting the door as she entered the room.

Lily had been here once before when she was younger to visit Al, and the room hadn't changed much since. Four beds with dark green canopies were pushed up against the opposite wall, their bedspreads neat and tidy. A black stone fireplace provided most of the light for the room, and the only decorations were the couple photos each boy had framed by his bed. Lily noticed one of her on the adjoining nightstand between Scorpius and Albus's bed and scowled. Scorpius followed her gaze, smirking.

"I tried to turn it down once," he said unabashedly, "but your complaints were so loud that none of us could sleep properly." He grinned in the direction of the photo. Both picture-Lily and the actual one glared.

"And where are your pictures?" Lily shot back, crossing her arms. "Still sleeping with them under your pillow?"

A flicker of a shadow crossed Scorpius's face. His smirk seemed forced. "Haven't been able to make room for them with that gaudy thing up," he said, turning away from the desk. "So. I take it that this isn't a pleasure trip. What do you need me for?"

Lily took a seat on Albus's bed, thinking. She swung her feet impatiently. "I need you to give a message to Albus for me," she said.

"Do I look like an owl?" Scorpius gestured to himself. "Go find him yourself. And tell him that the next time one of his siblings asks me to deliver a message, I'm going to curse them on the spot."

"James came to see you?" Lily asked in surprise, sidetracked. Scorpius appeared caught off-guard.

"Did I say that?" He shook his head. "Sorry, Potter. All that red-hair just blends together, and I forget which of you are related directly and which are-"

"You said you weren't going to screw me over." Lily's voice was hard as steel. "Come on, Malfoy. I may not be in Slytherin, but I can call a liar when I see one." There was a silence broken only by the ticking of a clock. Scorpius held her gaze.

"You've got a bit of an edge to you, haven't you?" There was grudging respect in his voice. "Not quite enough to be a Slytherin, but there's something there."

"Albus told you not to tell me, didn't he?" Lily surmised, ignoring his earlier statement. "James came and talked to you about something to do with the first war, but Albus didn't want you to tell me." She studied his expression carefully. His face was impassive. "Does Rose know? And the others?"

"Rose does." His voice was cool, business-like. "Not the others, no. Rose didn't want Hugo to know either." Lily stood up abruptly.

"You need to tell me what it is," she said solemnly. Seeing his stoic expression, she added, "Albus will never tell me, and you know it. Rose won't either, unless she thinks it's the only way to accomplish something."

"It's funny," Scorpius said in a cool voice. "It's like I can hear someone talking, but it's all so nonsensical that I can't follow."

Lily gave him a hard look. She lifted her chin to catch his eye and held it. "You're the only one who would tell me with no concern for my well-being," she said shortly. "That's why you have to be the one to do it."

Scorpius stared at her for a long, long time. The clock tick was heavy in the silence. "Do you know what a horcrux is, Lily?" he asked finally. She shook her head. Scorpius's face was unflinching as he continued. "It's a piece of dark magic where a wizard rips out part of his soul and conceals it in an object of value, making him impossible to kill without destroying the object. The object can only be destroyed in one of two ways; basilisk venom or the sword of Gryffindor."

"Scorpius?" Lily's voice was hushed, cautious. "Why are you telling me this?"

The boy continued, unaffected. "A witch or wizard can only make a horcrux by killing someone. You have to physically destroy them, blast them apart, until no remnant of their soul-"

"Scorpius!" Lily yelled. She couldn't breathe properly, and her throat felt swollen. "Stop it. That's enough."

Two red spots had appeared on his cheek bones. For the first time, she could sense how angry he was. "Is that what you wanted to hear, Lily?" he demanded. "Because that's what James told me! That's what I had to tell Albus and Rose, and that's what they wanted to keep from you. I hope you're really god damn happy that I had to explain it to you as well."

He sat down hard on his bed, his eyes never leaving hers. The blues were blazing with fire, melting and burning until they created an array of colors. Lily swallowed hard.

"What does that have to do with the first war?" she asked bluntly. "And the green skull?"

"I don't know." The red spots had faded slightly, leaving behind a tinge of pink. Scorpius's face had become the usual mask of calm. "James said he heard your dad talking about it with Rose's father. He said it sounded important." His eyes were lost in thought. Lily frowned.

"We need to find a book on horcruxes," she said, almost to herself. "A chapter, or even a paragraph-"

"Don't you think we've tried?" Scorpius's voice held a tired note beneath the steely tone. "Rose has searched every book she had access to in the library, twice. There's nothing."

"But that's exactly what the problem is," Lily said. There was a gravity to her words. "You've searched every book she has access to." Scorpius's face was deadpan.

"You want to search the restricted section," he said.

"Yes."

"That's what you came here to talk to me about."

"Yes."

"And that's why you wanted me to talk to Albus."

"Yes."

"You understand that if Filch finds us, he'll chop us into bits and feed us to the hippogriffs."

"Yes - wait, what?"

Scorpius shrugged. "We'll meet you at two," he told her. "Cast a silencing charm on that bulkier cousin of yours. He makes enough noise to wake a hibernating troll."

xxxxxx

"Lily!" The voice was a hushed anxious whisper. "Lily, wake up."

She felt someone shake her shoulder gently, nudging her awake. Her bed sheets were rustled. Lily groaned, rolling over onto the other side of the bed. She could hear someone sigh.

"She's impossible."

"Oh, scoot over." This voice was richer, though still female. "Lily." Her voice rang with irritation. "Get your lazy arse out of bed right now!" She felt her bed sheets pulled sharply again. Lily frowned, making a murmured noise of protest. The first girl let out a breath.

"Maybe we should just leave her, Rox," she suggested. "She's had a rough go of it lately. Some sleep might be exactly what she needs."

"Yeah," Rox said crankily. "Some sleep for all of us would have been nice. But now I'm up, and it's two in the morning, and if Lily doesn't wake up in about three seconds I am going to screech like a banshee until she does."

The first voice sounded alarmed. "That might damage her hearing permanently."

Rox's voice held a smirk. "She doesn't seem to use it much anyways, does she?"

There was a pause, broken only by the shuffling around the dorm. Lily could feel someone begin to shake her again. The first girl hummed thoughtfully.

"I could get Hugo up here," she suggested. "He's the only one who can rouse her at the crack of dawn for quidditch practice."

Roxanne let out something that sounded like a snort. "Only because she would marry the sport if she could, Luce." She appeared to be shaking her head. "Besides, Hugo wouldn't make it two stairs without tripping every alarm in the common room. He can keep the Fat Lady company instead."

She could practically feel Lucy frown. A gentle hand prodded at her back, pushing her a little. "Lily! Lils, come on. We're meeting Al, Rose and Scorpius in twenty minutes!"

Lily mumbled something incoherently, shifting so that her face was in the pillow. Roxanne let out a sigh of agitation.

"For Merlin's sake," she said exasperatedly. "Are we breaking and entering or not?" There was a brief pause as items were shifted around on a desk. Then, "Aguamenti!"

Lily sat bolt upright as a jet of water hit her in the face. Spluttering, she pushed back her soaking red hair to see Roxanne and Lucy studying her with interest. The latter looked slightly guilty. Growling, Lily glared at the pair of them.

"What was that for?" she demanded. Roxanne offered her an angelic smile.

"The early bird catches the morning worm," she chirped brightly. Lily gave her an incredelous look. Roxanne shrugged. "It was something I heard Lucy's mum say once."

Lily narrowed her eyes as Roxanne began digging through her trunk, tossing clothing items at her hazaphardly. She caught a pair of jeans and a vest instinctively, tucking them under her arm. A black cloak followed, along with a pair of lacy red knickers. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Are we going to the library or a bar in Knockturn Alley?" she asked, examining the panties closely. She was horrified to see that they were indeed hers, but with major alterations. Roxanne popped her head up from the trunk and grinned.

"Who says we can't do both?"

"Rox!" Lily protested, throwing the undergarments at her cousin. "No. We're digging for information tonight, not slipping out of the castle to go to a pub crawl." She shot a glance at Lucy, who was looking slightly queasy. Roxanne swung onto Lily's bed with ease. She gave them both a long look.

"I'm just saying that it's rare to have a boy along that none of us are related to." She shrugged, lifting one shoulder helplessly. "A girl has to celebrate."

"Through lacy red panties?" Lily scoffed. Lucy coughed.

"Can we talk about something else, please?" she asked. The tips of her ears had turned pink. "Like maybe how we're going to carry this whole thing off?"

"Oh, that's easy." Roxanne's eyes held a wicked glow as she straightened, moving to stand beside their beds. Her mind was going a million miles an hour. Again, Lily was struck by the difference between her cousins; while Lucy excelled at the intelligence of school work, Roxanne was a live spring, ready to create the impossible.

"It is?" Lucy asked. Her voice was filled with skepticism and concern. The moonlight filtering in from the dorm window made Roxanne's teeth flash a blinding wide as she grinned.

"Al and Hugo will watch the north and east wings," she said, waving her hands as if drawing a map in thin air. "Luce, you and I will watch the west one together; most people come in through that one, so it's better if there's two of us. Rose will be a back-up stunner. And if everything goes according to plan, which it will, that leaves just enough time for Lily and Scorpius to go in and check the-"

"_Scorpius_?" Lily demanded. She wrinkled her nose at Roxanne. "Why can't I bring Hugo instead?"

Rox raised an eyebrow. "Do I really need to answer that?"

An image of Hugo stumbling into a bookshelf filled her mind, accompanied by a thousand wailing books voicing their displeasure in her ears. Lily shook her head impatiently.

"Alright," she agreed. "So not Hugo, maybe. But what about Rose?" Seeing Lucy's look of doubt, she added defensively, "She has a practically photographic memory. She could memorize the entire page we needed in less than a minute."

Roxanne was already shaking her head. "Rose is better than anyone in the entire seventh year at charms. We'll need her with us."

"Okay," Lily said, firing up. "What about-"

"Lily!" Roxanne said, cutting her off. She planted her hands on her hips. "It needs to be someone who knows their way around dark magic. Only a Slytherin is going to be able to find what we're looking for."

An image of Talc flashed, unbidden, in her mind. Lily frowned and pushed it away. "What about Albus?" she suggested. "He's a Slytherin."

"Only because he wears a green tie," Roxanne said tiredly. "Lils, it needs to be Scorpius."

Lily shot a glance at Lucy. Her cousin hesitated before squeezing her hand. "You'll be fine," she promised. Lily swallowed.

"Alright," she agreed. "I'll go."

xxxxxx

_Please leave me a review! They make my day all happy and sort of glow-y :)_


	8. The Snake's Game

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I own anything affiliated it. It's all J.K. Rowling!

_A/N: _Please enjoy; and **review**!

o.O.o

The library held a chilling beauty at night. The starlight streaming in from the huge picture windows painted everything in a dreamy white glow. Shadows crept over the tables until they were beasts, dark and wild and alive. Lily's gaze darted to where the door to the restricted section stood, large and imposing. She took a step away from it reflexively.

"Ouch!" Hugo complained, bending down to rub at his toe. "Watch where you're going, Lilsy. I only have ten of these." His voice was saturated with lack of sleep and irritation. Lily shrugged sheepishly.

"At least you have ten fingers as well," she offered. Roxanne gave them both a sharp look.

"Unless you want to be Mrs. Norris bait," she hissed, "I suggest you keep your voices down." She swung back to face the front, forging a line ahead of Lucy toward the nearest shadowed table. Hugo's lips quirked.

"What's gotten into her?" he asked, though he had dropped his voice. Lily couldn't help but grin.

"She didn't like my knicker choice." Hugo stared at her in amazement.

"_What_?"

"Shh!" The sternness in Lily's tone was ruined by her amusement. "Mrs. Norris isn't the only thing I would be worried about eating me at the moment."

They reached an abrupt stop at the table, almost crashing into Lucy. She had her wand out, tapping it nervously on her cloak until gold sparks began to fly out of the end. Lily put a gentle hand on her wrist to steady her.

"They'll be here any moment," she promised. Lucy offered her a grateful smile. It was hard to tell if she was pale in the white light. She opened her mouth to speak when the library door flew open.

"We're here!" Rose announced. She sounded out of breath, carrying a bundle of books in her arms. They were tipping dangerously. Al was close behind her, his wand drawn and at the ready.

Scorpius walked at a more leisurely pace, letting the door fall shut behind him with a heavy bang. He grinned. The light made his hair and eyes glow white and gold, and for a moment, Lily thought he looked like an angel.

He threw himself into a seat at the table, letting his legs loll lazily out in front of him. He smirked as Rose set down the pile of books with a thump. "Has anyone ever told you that they already carry books in a library, Rose?" he asked charmingly. Her cousin shot him an impatient look.

"They're the spells I need for the perimeters," she explained distractedly. Her hands were already flying across the pile, organizing and categorizing. "I found them in a bin of my mum's old stuff in the basement."

"The one marked Seventh Year?" Hugo's eyebrows had shot up in awe. Lily could tell he was impressed. "Mum might murder you if she finds out."

Rose looked at him coolly. "She won't find out if no one tells her," she said pointedly. Her hands paused with the books. Hugo shot a glance toward Scorpius.

"You'd better find a muzzle shortly, then," he said shortly. The distrust was clear in his voice. Scorpius smiled sweetly, cupping a hand to his ear.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked. "I couldn't hear you over your whining for attention." Hugo looked furious.

"Look here, Malfoy-"

"Alright!"

Lily was surprised to hear her own voice cutting into the air. It rang in the echoing space, bouncing off the walls and back to her. She drew another breath. "Alright. Both of you are done, okay? You can prove you're the bigger man some other time." Lily ignored the hurt look Hugo shot her. Scorpius clasped his hands behind his head.

"I don't need to prove I'm bigger," he said smugly. "Half the girls in Hogwarts already know it."

Lily felt her stomach turn. She gritted her teeth. "This is so not the time, Malfoy-"

"No need to be jealous, Potter." Scorpius offered her a smirk. "You can always see for yourself if you like." He winked. Lily swallowed the bile rising toward her throat. Albus scowled.

"Oi." He turned to face Scorpius. "You may be my best mate, but that's my sister. I will not hesitate to curse you." Beside him, Hugo's hand had itched toward his wand eagerly.

Scorpius didn't look the least bit concerned. "Go ahead." Rose slammed the books down on the table. Lily couldn't help but flinch.

"Honestly," Rose said, her voice irritated. "This is supposed to be a break-in, not a public brawl." She shot all three boys admonishing looks. "Control yourselves."

Albus immediately assumed a guilty expression. "Sorry, Rose," he said. His voice was tiny. "You're right." Neither Scorpius nor Hugo looked particularly remorseful, but they both gave her stiff nods. Rose appeared satisfied.

"Good," she said. "Now, Al you're going to be on patrol duty with Hugo, Rox and Lucy. I'll be a back-up stunner. Scorpius and Lily, you're in charge of getting in and out without tripping any alarms."

"Easier said than done," Lily muttered under her breath, shooting a look at Scorpius. The blonde gave her a lazy smile.

"Don't worry, Potter," he said. "I'll do my best to stop you from tripping over your own feet."

Lily opened her mouth to retaliate, but closed it at a sharp look from Rose. Her cousin sighed tiredly. "It's two-thirty now," she said, glancing at her watch. "We meet back here at three. No exceptions." Her gaze flicked to Scorpius, whose face was stoic in the starlight. He nodded.

"Come on." He turned toward the door of the restricted section, not bothering to turn around to see if she was following. Lily did so indignantly, hurrying to match his impatient strides.

"It's not a race, you know." Her voice was quieter as they moved away from the others into a darker nook, any light coming from the burning of torches. Scorpius' smile was full of shadows.

"It's a good thing I'm not hurrying, then." There was a smirk in his voice. Lily darted forward so that she was jogging along side him as they went, their footsteps echoing around the dark corridor. She felt her mouth twist into a scowl.

"You'll have to forgive me," she said waspishly. "I forget sometimes that your ego can't be contained in one area for too long." Her voice bounced off the walls, creating a chorus. She swore she could see Scorpius grin through the shadows.

"It's my modesty, actually. People are terribly frightened by how humble and giving I am."

"So you're always on the run, then?" Her voice was quiet as they turned a sharp bend, plowing further into the short corridor. "From everyone?"

The torchlight illuminated the blonde's lashes as he looked at her. His cheekbones looked especially hollow in the dark. His expression was uncharacteristically serious, and when he spoke, his voice was soft. "Something like that."

Lily felt her steps falter. She bit her lip, opening her mouth to respond as they came to a stop outside a set of double doors. Scorpius turned toward her, raising one eyebrow.

"Do you know your way around?" Lily nodded, rubbing her arms to fend off the sudden chill of the room. Scorpius seemed satisfied. "Good. Make yourself useful, but don't touch anything unless I say to. Are we clear?"

"Right," Lily muttered. "Touch everything within reaching distance."

Scorpius gave her a stern look. "Pardon?"

"We're clear," Lily said. She took a step forward and pushed open the doors cautiously, stepping carefully into the room. It was even colder in the small space; she could feel the chill seeping into her bones and through her veins. Three bookshelves were pushed against the opposite wall, crammed with various titles and pictures of gruesome transformations and curses. A rickety table with three chairs was left abandoned in the middle of the room. Scorpius's breath left clouds hanging in the air.

"Just as bloody and disturbing as I remember it," he said evenly, reaching to pick up a book from the opposite shelf. "_Torturing and Trapping Trolls_. It's a shame that Hugo isn't here, or we could check it for accuracy."

"_Scorpius_," Lily hissed. She snatched the book from him, storing it swiftly back on the shelf. "I thought we agreed not to touch anything." The blonde offered her a breezy smile.

"It's not me I'm worried about, Lily, darling." His blue eyes were hard as stone. Lily clenched her fists but turned away, examining the nearest shelf. There were probably about seventy-five books a shelf, and about two-hundred and twenty-five total. Of those, they would have to check about half. She glanced at her watch. Twenty-two minutes left.

"You start checking that shelf," she instructed, gesturing to the worn one on the right. "I'll start here. Look at anything remotely connected to the battle, mark or the-" She cut off for a moment, clearing her throat. "The horcruxes."

If Scorpius noticed her pause, he didn't show it. "Don't touch anything with a dark blue spine on it," he said in a low voice. "It would be difficult to explain to Al that his sister can now fit inside of a match box."

They worked for the better part of ten minutes in this fashion, skimming pages and speaking only when they needed to. It was while examining a particularly horrible book on breaking bones that Lily could feel the back of her eyes beginning to burn. She scrubbed at them viciously, turning away to face the bookshelf. It wasn't that the images bothered her, exactly. It was that she could picture them being actually used; on Hugo, Albus, James...

"Lily." Her head snapped up, and she spun around to face Scorpius. His face shone with disbelief. "I found it."

"What?" She was at his side in a moment, peering over his shoulder. "What is it?"

He tilted his head, causing blonde locks to fall into his eyes. He pushed at them impatiently. "I-" He frowned, squinting. "I'm not sure exactly."

"Let me look," she demanded. Sensing Scorpius's hesitation, she grudgingly added, "Please. Please let me look."

He eyed her wearily for a moment before reluctantly handing the book over. Lily examined it closely. It was bound in a scarlet cover that reminded her eerily of blood. Words in black ink curled around the front cover; _History of the Horcrux_. Lily flipped open the first page. A messy signature was scrawled near the bottom; H. Slughorn. She turned the book back over, tracing her finger over the lettering. From behind her, Scorpius made an irritated sound.

"Yes, the front cover's pretty," he said impatiently. "There's even some _words_ printed on the next few pages if you'd like to see them."

Lily shot him a dirty look. She opened the book pointedly, scanning the first section. It was an overview of the general magic that bound horcruxes and the history surrounding such as _breaking, splitting, _and _melting_ jumped out at her, accompanied by various passages explaining the ripping of a soul. Gritting her teeth, she began to turn the page. Lily immediately bit her tongue to keep from screaming as something fell out.

A piece of parchment.

Doing her best to calm her frantic heart, she stooped to pick it up. Scorpius was at her side in an instant, his hand shooting out to grab her wrist. His fingers left shocks where they touched the sensitive skin by her wrist.

"You see?" he asked calmly. "This is why I'm allowed to touch and you're not."

Lily gave him a scowl that he ignored. Instead, he pulled his wand out, muttering spells while the occasional shot of light curled around the parchment. Lily watched curiously as the light died down, leaving the parchment unblemished.

"So?" she asked. Her tone was short. Scorpius shrugged.

"Have at it."

Lily lowered herself more cautiously this time, examining the paper with her eyes. It was about the size of her palm, and the corners were creased and wrinkled. The black ink had begun to fade around the edges. Carefully, she picked it up and smoothed it so that the lines were readable. She felt her forehead crease.

_Albus Dumbledore said seven_, it read. Then,

_Diary, Ring, Locket, Snake, Cup, Ravenclaw (?)._

And then, a couple lines below,

Harry Potter.

Lily glanced up from the list. She could feel her heart pounding louder now, like a drum against her chest. She let out a shaky breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and flexed her fingers. They were white from clutching the piece of parchment.

Scorpius was watching her with a hard expression. "And?"

"Nothing." Her voice was hollow. "I don't understand it either. Nothing."

Her father's name stared back at her like an accusation.

o.O.o

"I still don't understand," Hugo said. He looked up from across the locker room, pausing in the tying of his quidditch sneakers. "You found a list?"

"Not just a _list_," Lily explained exasperatedly, giving her own laces a tug. "A handwritten list." She twisted so that the vulnerable part of her elbow was exposed and held her guard out to Hugo. He began to do it up methodically, his fingers automatic in their movements.

"So you found a spare bit of parchment with some senseless scribbles." He shrugged. "I lose parchment all the time, Lilsy. Some bloke probably just forgot to take his shopping list with him."

"It wasn't _senseless_," Lily said, nettled. "And it definitely wasn't a shopping list. It had my dad's name on it, Hugo. And Al's name." Hugo's eyebrows knitted together doubtfully.

"I still think that finding a list in a random book doesn't exactly call for a celebration." Lily could hear the hurt in his voice that he struggled to disguise and felt a flash of guilt. Scorpius's words bounced around in her head, making it difficult to breathe. _Rose didn't want Hugo to know. _But it wasn't Rose's call.

Was it her's either, then?

Hugo gave her an odd look. "Lily?" he asked. "Lily, are you alright?" He peered at her anxiously, snapping his fingers. She blinked once.

"I'm good," she said, coughing to clear the tension. "It's just... being in the restricted section doesn't exactly make the book random, does it?" It was as close to the truth as she could muster.

Hugo finished his own guards with a snap. The sound seemed to echo in the silence of the locker room. "No, it doesn't." He leant back against the blackboard, his back collecting chalk from where he had previously marked their plays with little x's and o's. Lily offered him a small smile.

"Shouldn't you be off somewhere yelling, Captain?" she asked, nodding at the badge on his chest. "The game starts in twenty minutes, you know."

"Twenty-one," Hugo corrected her automatically. He grinned as she raised her eyebrows. "Sorry. I'm trying not to be a Captain for a second."

Lily snorted. "Good luck with that."

There was a pause as they sat in silence, the only sound the faint cheers rising from the stands in the distance. She snuck a glance at her cousin. He was visibly restraining himself from pacing, as he so often did before a big game. His foot was tapping impatiently.

"Hugo," she said sternly. "If you want to go and talk to the team before the game, I'm okay to be by myself for a moment." Her voice was half-joking and half-serious. Hugo glanced up from where he was staring at the plays on the board, startled into reality. He frowned.

"You are my team," he told her. "Or most of it, anyway. Zeek's not so bad. And with the right amount of training, Annie could be almost as good as you. If only she could get that right hook down and-"

"Stop," Lily ordered, holding up a hand. "Save your lectures for later."

"Right." He gave her a sheepish smile, full of appreciation, years of friendship and trust. Memories of throwing garden gnomes, sweet spring evenings and stealing brooms came back in a rush of colours and pictures. Lily felt the back of her eyes burn.

"Do you want to see the list?" she blurted abruptly. The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop them, rash and impulsive. "The list we found in the book?"

"Did you take it with you?" Hugo's voice belayed his surprise. Lily nodded numbly.

"Here." She thrust the small bit of parchment at him before she could change her mind. Hugo held it up to the light, squinting to make out the words.

"Is this in mermish?" he asked in disbelief. Lily felt a smile threaten to break over her face.

"Cursive, actually," she corrected him. "You'll find it's actually pretty common." Hugo stuck his tongue out at her before returning to his reading. His eyebrows slowly crept toward his hairline.

"You didn't mention that Uncle Harry's name is crossed out," he mused. "What is this, some sort of hit list?"

Lily leaned over to whack him firmly on the shoulder. "Not funny," she told him. "And no, I don't think they took the time to write up a one-person hit list." She watched as the expression on Hugo's face changed from curiosity to confusion. He frowned as he flipped the list over to the blank back side.

"What book was it in?" he asked. His eyes scanned the parchment, scrutinizing. Lily felt another hot stab of guilt go through her.

"I can't remember," she lied. Her nails dug into the flesh of her palm. Hugo glanced up, his expression torn between laughter and disbelief.

"You can't remember?" He shook his head. "You can remember the exact number of steps it takes to get from the common room to the Great Hall, Lilsy. My sister may have the photographic memory, but you're not exactly forgetful."

She shrugged. "I just can't remember, that's all." Hugo opened his mouth to respond.

"I-"

"Does it mean anything to you?" she asked, cutting him off. "The list?"

Hugo paused, scratching his head. He looked torn for a moment before shrugging, glancing down at the paper again. "Not exactly," he hedged. "It's just..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Don't have kittens, but I might recognize the writing."

Lily felt her heartbeat quicken. "What do you mean, you might recognize the writing?"

"I mean that yes, I can read cursive," Hugo said, displaying an uncharacteristic amount of annoyance. "What do you think I mean, Lily?" She felt a flash of hurt, which must have shown on her face because Hugo's expression softened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. It's just this game; it's messing with my head."

"Oi," Lily said, gesturing to herself. "Have you spoken to me lately? I could barely put my knee guards on I was shaking so badly." She stood up, brushing the dirt off of her uniform as she did so. "Now come on, Captain. It's time to go and lecture the team. We have a game to win."

Hugo stood as well. He turned toward the door before hesitating, turning back to look at her. Gratitude was written all over his face. "Thank-you, Lilsy," he said. "I don't think I could do it - all of it, any of it - without you."

Lily forced her face into a smile, molding it into the shape she remembered when there were no secrets. Back when the only lies were about who ate the last cookie, and who threw the garden gnomes the farthest.

Back when things were easy.

"You're welcome," she whispered.

The door shut behind him, leaving Lily alone in a room with her guilt.

o.O.o

"Look you lot, I'm not going to waste my time giving you all a speech," Hugo said firmly. He looked at them all seriously, his gaze sweeping over the alcove where they stood. Castor, a fourth year chaser, snorted loudly.

"That's likely," he muttered. Lily dug her elbow into his ribs, but couldn't stop a small smile. Hugo plundered on obliviously.

"That said, this is an important game strategy wise." He met all of their eyes again, his own brown ones calculating and thoughtful. His broom shifted from one hand to the other and back again. "This game today determines how the other teams see us for the rest of the season, alright? I want a solid, opposing front. But no fancy tricks." He cut his eyes over to where the petite fifth-year chaser stood, nervously chewing at her lip. "That includes you, Annie."

Annie immediately looked up and blushed. "Yes, Captain."

Hugo nodded approvingly before turning to the seeker. "And you as well, Zeek. No flips over the hoops until at least the fifth game."

Zeek grinned unapologetically. "I'll try my best," he said, "but there's no guarantees." Hugo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Alright," he said. "And you all remember the game plan? Remember what we talked about, with cutting the left corner only when-"

"We got it, Hugo," Lily said. She smiled at him reassuringly. "We want this as badly as you do."

"Well, almost as badly," said Castor. "My bullocks haven't forgotten what early-morning practices feel like yet." He winced as if the thought pained him. Hugo's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"I'm not worried," he said confidently. "And you shouldn't be either. We've got a strong team full of determination, speed and skill." He surveyed the group of them proudly. "With my training, you're all going to be fantastic." Lily swore his eyes were a little shiny. Lysander appeared to have noticed the same thing.

"Five sickles says he breaks," he whispered to Lorcan. His twin grinned, hoisting his beater bat to shake his brother's hand.

"A galleon says he lasts until the first goal."

This time, Lily had to use both elbows to nudge them in the ribs.

There was a sudden crackling as the loud speaker sprung to life outside. Cheers instantly erupted through the crowd, carrying across the pitch and into the alcove. Lily could see Hugo's shoulders tense as a person began to speak into the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen." The voice was oily, slick. Most definitely Slytherin. "Welcome to the first game of the season. It is my delight to announce that I will be commentating for this match, as the previous commentator has come down with an, er, unfortunate case of boils." There was hidden glee in the speaker's voice. "Please enjoy yourself for the next two minutes before the blood bath begins."

The speaker crackled and cut out. This was immediately accompanied by the angry shouts and hollers of students, as well as the occasional cheer rising from the Slytherin section. Zeek's nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Who was _that _prat?" he demanded, craning his neck to see through the flap and out into the stadium. Hugo's face was white as he too looked out onto the pitch. He swore loudly.

"Derrick McNair." He shook his head, leaning back against the wall. "Fifth-year Slytherin. He's about as bad as they come."

"I've got Charms with him," Annie piped up. Her brown curls flew everywhere as she shook her head. "He's awful. I've never heard him say a good word about anyone before." They all turned to stare at her in shock. Lily was fairly sure that was the most she had ever heard Annie say in one go before. Annie seemed to realize that they were watching her and blushed profusely. Hugo cleared his throat.

"Well," he said, "make sure to ignore him. He'll try his best to throw you off of your game, but don't let him. You've all worked too hard for this." He was pacing nervously now as he spoke, passing his broom from one hand to the other. "Just focus on the game. During the opening ceremonies, just play the strategy over and over in your head. Everything we talked about-"

"Hugo," Lily interrupted, seized by a sudden thought. "What if they rig the opening ceremonies?"

Hugo frowned. "What do you mean?" Evidently, the thought of touching such a precious quidditch tradition had not occurred to him. Lily began to feel slightly shaky with panic.

"I mean, what if the Slytherins rigged the introductions?" She let her words sink in, her mind playing out all sorts of frightening possibilities. "Look, it's not an accident that Derrick McNair was put in as commentator. They're obviously planning something. So what better time to sabotage the game then when they're introducing the players at the beginning of the year?"

Hugo had stopped his pacing to look at her, wide-eyed. "That might actually make some sense."

"They're going to try and swing the crowd's opinion on us," Castor marveled. "That's sort of evil and brilliant all at once."

Hugo swore again, more loudly this time. "Half the game is the play, and half is strategy," he said, almost to himself. "They're playing the strategy card. That's clever." He sounded surprised.

Lorcan made a sound of impatience. "And it might have actually worked..."

"...if we weren't so damn charming," Lysander finished, grinning smugly at his twin. "C'mon, Captain. We fly out there, they say our name, and a photo plays behind us while they talk. What's the worst they can do?"

"I don't know." Hugo looked doubtful. "They've got a new Captain this year that I've never heard of before; Tall, or Talv, or something."

"Talc," Lily corrected him automatically. Her mind felt frozen and sluggish; she had forgotten he was Captain. Seeing Hugo's expression of disbelief, she added, "That's his name. Talc."

"I know that that's his _name_," Hugo said incredulously, "I want to know how _you_ know it." Lily shrugged defensively, feeling the weight of the team's stares.

"I-"

"Thirty seconds." McNair's voice rang through the stadium again, faint over the screams and hollers of the crowd. "Take your bets now; although anyone wearing red and gold is a fool." A loud click indicated that the mike had once again turned off. More shouting followed.

"Look," Lily said urgently. "Talc doesn't seem like the type of guy to play the game where everyone can see it. He plays it in your head, and he does it cunningly." She was speaking directly to Hugo now, her eyes locked on his. "A public stunt doesn't seem like his type of thing. And it's definitely not Al's either."

Hugo looked doubtful. "That doesn't mean it isn't Malfoy's."

Lily said nothing.

Zeek tapped his foot in anticipation. "There's not much we can do about it right now," he pointed out reasonably, "is there?

Hugo sighed. "No," he agreed. "I suppose there isn't."

They shouldered their brooms as the countdown began.

o.O.o

**Please leave me a review!**


	9. The Lion's Plan

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _This chapter is incredibly quidditch heavy; I can understand if you hate me at the end, but I promise it is worth it to muddle through just for the end!

o.O.o

"Ladies and Gentlemen."

McNair's slick voice ran through the pitch, coating the stands in oil and an ooze of charm. "Allow me to welcome you again to the first quidditch match of the season. I hope you all have brought along a pair of Omnioculars, because there will be plenty of opportunity today to replay a Gryffindor getting injured. Brutally."

Boos and hisses echoed through-out the stadium. Lily could spot an enraged Roxanne being held back by Lucy somewhere near the front of the stands. Lily couldn't be sure, but it looked like her cousin had a string of profanity going. McNair let out a small chuckle.

"Just kidding, of course," he said smoothly. Then, after a pause, "Gryffindor will be so broken that any injury would be a _blessing_." This was met with an almost deafening cheer from the Slytherin section. The Gryffindor's were all on their feet now, red-faced and yelling. Lily covered her eyes with her hands and groaned. Beside her, Annie looked distraught.

"Professor Longbottom can't seriously be alright with this, can he?" she asked, trying to peer out into the crowd as well. "He's outright insulting us." Hugo shook his head. His face was tight and drawn.

"He's at the Ministry," he said distractedly, craning his neck to see around Annie and into the stands. "He had some business or something he had to take care of. He left this morning." He waved his hand impatiently. Lily straightened.

"What business?" she asked sharply. Hugo turned to look at her, his eyebrows knitting together.

"I-"

"Now," McNair said, his magically magnified voice drowning out Hugo's next words. "Enough with the delays; let's introduce the players!" A swell of music accompanied his words, signifying the first game of the season. This was met with all-around cheers, though Lily could tell that the Gryffindors were more reluctant. McNair continued on. "From Slytherin, keeper _Arius Blackthorn!_"

Immediately, a dark-haired blur flew onto the pitch, spurred on by the cheers and hollers of the Slytherins. He did a lap of the pitch while McNair spoke, doing a string of tricks and stopping to give the crowd an occasional intimidating look.

"Now, that right there is exactly what I _don't _want you to do," Hugo said. "No tricks, no sick. I don't want any of you out for today, alright?" Lily watched as Arius scowled fiercely one more time before taking his place by the goals. Another figure shot out, accompanied by more screams and an explanation.

Zeek pulled a face. "I wonder if it hurts his muscles to scowl like that all the time." Lily smiled.

"It probably just comes naturally to him."

McNair's voice caught her attention as another blur flew out, met by an almost deafening roar from the Slytherin section. "_Porella Yaxley_!" Lily watched as the girl shot out, her hair flying like a dark banner behind her. She gave a jaunty wave followed by a kiss, causing many of the male Slytherins to shout out. Lily made a noise of disgust.

"I didn't realize she took time off of being a drama queen to play quidditch," she said, wrinkling her nose. Hugo raised his eyebrows.

"You know her as well, then?" he asked in disbelief. "Seriously, Lily, are you trying to befriend the entire Slytherin quidditch team?"

"Oh, we're not friends," Lily said sharply. She watched as Porella took a steep dive, twisting effortlessly as she did so. Lily felt a dark sense of satisfaction as she stumbled on the climb back up. "In fact, I'm fairly certain she's never had a friend before." Hugo peered out again, squinting to make out the figure. His eyes widened.

"She's kind of hot," he said in surprise.

Lily looked at her cousin in utter disbelief. "What did you just say?" The tips of Hugo's ears went red.

"Er-"

A new wave of cheers sounded as Talc flew onto the pitch, drowning out Hugo's next words. He looked just as Lily remembered him; his brown hair was mussed, and his gold eyes shone with excitement and anticipation. McNair seemed just as intrigued as she found herself to be.

"_..._but we all know why that is," he was saying. "It seems that Talc is a popular choice with the witches this year, as well as some of the wizards. His flying has all of Hogwarts in an uproar."

As if to illustrate his words, Talc chose this moment to pull into a complicated tuck maneuver. He grinned easily as he came out of it, causing more screams, mostly among the girls. Lily noticed a couple magical banners in the crowd with his name on them. McNair seemed to be picking up steam as he spoke.

"That said, a couple of rumors have been bouncing around about a certain chaser. I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about." Lily groaned. She could hear the beginning of the screams already. "Please welcome _Albus Potter_!"

Her brother, at least, was more modest about his entry, despite the roar of the crowd. He looked almost sheepish as he sped around the pitch, occasionally throwing a wave toward the stands. He didn't take nearly as long with his tricks, but instead parked himself right in the middle of the pitch. McNair seemed to realize that Albus wasn't going to move, because he quickly began to pull the speech in a different direction.

"And, of course, Potter is a key player to his team." He gave him a respectful nod. "A cracking chaser as well as a promising quidditch prodigy. Still, most of the buzz this year has been focused solely on _one_ player." Lily could feel her forehead crease. Beside her, Hugo stiffened. "The ladies love him, the fans enjoy him, and the snitch seems to _adore_ him; give it up for _Scorpius Malfoy_!"

Scorpius, Lily grudgingly admitted, had the most impressive entrance.

She watched in disbelief as he walked casually to the edge of the Slytherin alcove, standing about a hundred meters up from the ground. His eyes were closed. With the wind tossing his hair and his arms spread wide, he looked almost angelic in the morning sun. Lily could have sworn she saw the beginning of a smile on his face. Then, without another word, Scorpius stepped off the ledge.

Lily could feel the entire stands' panic ripple through the crowd. Girl's screams split the air, and a couple professors hopped to their feet, fussing with their wands. Lily heard Annie stifle a cry by clapping a hand to her mouth, and even Zeek blanched. She could feel her own heart pounding like a drum in her chest as her eyes tracked the plummeting figure. Almost as if of their own accord, her hands began to fumble for her wand.

The broom came out of nowhere. One moment, Scorpius was plunging to his death and the next, he was seated on the broom, grinning cheekily like nothing had ever happened.

The crowd exploded into applause. People were shrieking, crying, clapping as the blown-up image of Scorpius was projected onto the screen. McNair was yelling something over the ruckus, pointing at where the seeker had stood. Omnioculars everywhere were paused, rewinded and replayed. Lily let out something like a gasp.

"That idiot!" She turned to jab a finger at Hugo. "That absolute idiot! Did you see that? What _was_ that?" she demanded. "He could have gotten himself killed!"

"You're right," Hugo said, trying to peer over her head. "It's a pity his broom got there in time, isn't it?"

Scorpius did another lap while McNair spoke before coming to hover beside Al, his expression one of self-satisfaction and pleasure. Lily was pleased to see that her brother whacked him on the arm.

"Alright," Hugo said urgently, reclaiming all of their attention. "Does everyone understand what to do?" The side conversations halted as they nodded, mounting their brooms. Hugo looked relieved. "Good," he said. His smile looked strained as he offered them a forced nod of reassurance. "Let's go and be brilliant!"

"Now," McNair said snidely, his voice taking on a more chilly tone. "Let me introduce you to this year's losers; From Gryffindor, keeper _Hugo Weasley_."

Lily clapped him on the shoulder as he sped off into the cheers, pumping his fist in exhilaration. She heard McNair distantly, his voice echoing around in her head.

"Of course, there's debate around the whole topic," he was saying smoothly, "and it's up for _you_ to decide; is it the fame or fortune that bought Weasley a spot on the team? My bet is neither; it was just that everyone felt sorry for him." More cheers from the Slytherins. The Gryffindors looked torn between continuing their clapping or taking up arms against McNair. Lily tightened her grip on her broom.

Zeek, Annie, Lysander and Castor were soon gone too, picked at with similar insults ranging from little jabs to borderline inappropriate. Lily felt her teeth grind in frustration. McNair was destroying them, little by little.

Lorcan gave her a reassuring smile before he, too, left. Now it was just her in the small alcove, pacing. She stared blankly at the wall before her. A long crack crossed with another, making a jagged mess of the stone work. Lily felt her mouth pull into a smile.

A foggy idea began to form in her mind.

"And, now." McNair's voice rang clear in the stadium, his tone taking on an even more condescending one. "I give you the most popular player for people's, er, _discussions_." He dropped his voice to a whisper as if talking about something embarrassing. Lily saw Albus clench his fists at his sides. "_Lily Potter_."

Lily was hardly aware of the deafening roar as she flew onto the pitch. Distantly, she could feel the hum of the crowd as their energy ran through her veins. Behind her, another Lily beamed into the camera as she tossed a shot into the hoops.

McNair's eyes lit as he saw her, his voice becoming slick with honey over glass. "Of course, the littlest Potter has been building quite the reputation around Hogwarts," he said happily. "Almost all of the students know who she is." His mouth twisted into a smirk. "Well, the male ones, anyway."

Lily tensed, but didn't stop. She could see Talc and Albus both shift slightly on their brooms, visibly restraining themselves from movement. Porella looked pleased. And Scorpius...

Scorpius looked bored.

McNair's cold, dark eyes bored into her. Lily gritted her teeth, daring her broom to accelerate. It did, continuing at breakneck pace across the field. McNair kept smiling that smug little grin.

"Oh, I'm not saying that she's not smart, of course," McNair said. "No, you misunderstand me. Lily Potter is very intelligent in certain areas. I hear that she's wonderful at pleasing you just where you want to-"

BAM. Lily felt the collision shake her bones as her foot collided with the commentators chest, sending him slamming into the boards. His unconscious body crumpled to the floor. Shaking her hair out of her face, Lily reached out with one hand to grab the mike as she continued on her broom's path.

"I'm so sorry," she said brightly, turning swiftly to avoid the boards. "It appears that Mr. McNair is out of commission for this match." She stopped to wink at the crowd. "I accept thank-you notes and flowers by owl only."

Without another word, she threw the mike at a grinning Roxanne before flying to take her spot by Castor. The fourth-year looked astonished.

"What was _that_?" he asked in disbelief.

"That," Lily said coolly, "is how you make an entrance."

Somewhere in the distance, a whistle blew shrilly. It had started.

xxxxx

The game was a bloodbath.

Lily gritted her teeth as she veered right to avoid a hard bludger from Slate, a grey-eyed Slytherin beater. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as it kissed the top of her skin. Slate leered at her before speeding up in the opposite direction. Immediately, Zeek was by her side.

"Want me to get him?" he offered, glaring in Slate's direction. His usual easy grin was replaced with a scowl. Lily swallowed, rubbing the skin that the bludger had grazed.

"You're not a beater," she reminded him. Zeek smiled grimly.

"I wasn't planning to use a bludger."

Lily gave a dark chuckle. "Just go look for the snitch, Zeek." She did her best to give him a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine."

"I doubt that," he scoffed. "I'm not blind, Lily. They've been after you all match." There was something in his tone of voice that reminded Lily faintly of someone else. Her eyes narrowed.

"Hugo sent you to check up on me, didn't he?" she asked shrewdly. Zeek appeared unabashed. His eyes scanned for the snitch.

"Guilty as charged."

They both ducked to avoid another well-placed bludger from Slate. He looked pleased with himself as he hefted his bat, hollering to be heard over the distance. "My bad! I didn't see you there, Potter."

"She doesn't even have the _quaffle_, you git!" Zeek exclaimed, shaking his head. Lowering his voice, he added, "Do you want me to get Lysander and Lorcan? They can keep an eye on you, just in case-"

"Zeek," Lily interrupted. "I said I'm fine. Now go and look for your snitch."

"But Hugo-"

"If Hugo wanted to speak to me," Lily said reasonably, "he would come over here himself." She swung her broom in the opposite direction, preparing to take off. Zeek gave a scoff.

"Yes," he agreed. "Except for the fact that we sort of need him near the goals, don't we?"

A noise of impatience escaped her. "Go look for the damn snitch, Zeek."

She took off without another word, pushing her broom faster and farther. She could feel the wind pushing against her skin, stinging the cuts where she had fallen. Colors began to blur together until the crowd was one giant rainbow of greens, yellows and reds.

It was as natural as breathing when Annie tossed her the quaffle, effortless and easy. The players became obstacles that she dodged around, unable to tell one green robe from another. She thought one might be Al, but it was hard to say.

"Lily!" Castor's voice got her attention. He pointed to something urgently. "Go far left; Blackthorn favors right," he instructed. "And watch for that Talc bloke, he has a really good-" He cut off abruptly, noting her expression. Lily felt a wide grin break over her face. "Lily?"

"I'm going to do a Weasley Feint," she decided. Castor looked at her like she was crazy.

"A _what_?" he asked. "Lily, does that even exist?" He sounded doubtful. Lily shrugged.

"No," she said. "But he won't see it coming then, will he?"

Castor appeared alarmed. "Annie!" he called, turning around to shout at the other chaser. "Annie, come tell Lily that she is not throwing away this goal for us."

"Castor," Lily said patronizingly. "Don't you know the only way to score is by throwing?"

She sped up again, putting everything she had into her climb toward the hoops. She pulled sharply up as yet another bludger whizzed underneath her, this time from Talc. He gave her an almost apologetic look as he swept under her to chase it, falling away until it was just Lily and the hoops.

Her palms began to sweat, and she could feel the beat of her heart pounding against her ribcage. The cheer of the crowd rang dully in her ears, muffled and strange. Blackthorn glared at her through narrowed eyes. Lily drew a shaky breath and dove left, then right, then straight toward the center goal.

The quaffle sailed out of her hand and through the hoop.

A resounding cheer exploded from the stands. People jumped to their feet, waving banners of gold and red at her. She could hear Roxanne yelling into the mike, her face flushed with pleasure. Lily let her fist pump into the air, her own shout of laughter escaping her.

"I wouldn't get too confident yet, Potter." Lily turned to find Blackthorn glaring at her. His cheeks were flushed an angry red, and an odd smile played about his lips, making his eyes look maniacal. "Your father knows better than anyone else; a Slytherin's soul has to be split seven ways before we quit."

His eyes bored into hers. A flutter of uncertainty went through Lily's chest. She coughed to hide her discomfort, swinging her red hair over her shoulder. "Eat dung, Blackthorn," she quipped. "And learn to Keep."

She sped off into the game, rolling to avoid yet another bludger from Slate. Blackthorn's words rang in her head, bouncing around like stones in a riverbed. Lily shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She was being silly. Ridiculous, really, to listen to a Slytherin Keeper. But what if...

It hit Lily so fast she almost fell off her broom.

_Split your soul seven ways_. Horcruxes. _Your father knows better than anyone_. The name Harry Potter, on the list.

Lily felt her mouth pop open. The cold air hit her tongue like tiny knives, helping to clear her head. The list they had found was a list of horcruxes.

She felt her broom move almost of it's own accord, racing to the opposite end of the pitch. Her hands were hard against the wood of her broom, but she squeezed tighter and tighter until she could feel nothing at all. She could hear confusion rippling through the stands below her, building like a wave, but she didn't stop.

She collided with the green figure at an impact that would knock most players off their brooms. Luckily, this one had the sense to absorb the impact with their knees.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing, Potter?" Scorpius demanded, swinging upright again to face her. "What, did you decide that taking out one Slytherin wasn't enough for a match?"

"I'll go after as many as I like until you call your dog off," she said, stung. "I'll stop when Slate stops." Scorpius gave her a look of disbelief.

"You came all the way over here to tell me that you're having some problems with a rogue beater?" he asked incredelously. "How about you go and tell the _captain_? Or, better yet, just go and try and knock him off of his broom instead." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Right," she said. "Because you have no idea about this plan where they send me to the hospital wing in pieces."

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the cries of outrage and confusion of the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily could see Hugo watching her. Scorpius's eyes were the dark blue of storm clouds when he next looked at her.

"You think I would deliberately hurt you to win a match?" he asked coldly. Lily met his gaze evenly.

"Yes."

Scorpius shook his head in disgust. "Get lost, Potter," he said chillingly. "I have a snitch to catch." He turned abruptly to speed off. In a last ditch effort, Lily launched herself forward to grab onto his shirt collar. Her fingers grazed hot skin.

"Wait." She watched with bated breath as he turned around, his piercing eyes fixing on her's with intensity. She swallowed hard. "I did have something I wanted to tell you."

He let out a wild laugh, short and strangled. "It seems you had a lot of things to tell me, Lily," he said fiercely. "I, for one, didn't realize you thought that I had a death wish against you. Or, for another, that I-"

"The piece of parchment is a list of horcruxes," Lily said all in one breath. She watched as his face froze. "That's what I wanted to tell you. The snake, and the locket, and the diary; they're all horcruxes."

"Your dad," Scorpius said distractedly, his mind making the connection. "_Al_'s dad-"

"I don't know yet," Lily interrupted. She shook her head. "Just don't tell the others yet. I don't want them to-"

CRACK. Lily felt something heavy collide with the base of her skull, knocking her forward with such impact that she flew off of her broom and into the air. Something sticky and warm began to ooze down her neck and when she put her fingers to it, they came away red. Blood.

Her body felt weightless as she fell, and for a moment she felt free. Really, was it such a hardship to die young if she died doing something she loved? Lily loved quidditch more than almost anything. Colors flickered above her, green and silver knitting together until they looked like one giant tangle. Through veiled eyelashes she could see a pair of odd gold eyes coming closer toward her.

She closed her eyes, letting her body fall limp as the sky cartwheeled above her. She felt a strong pair of arms curl around her and wondered if that's what angels felt like.

o.O.o

_A/N: _Our first official cliffhanger, no? Review with some theories and quotes/characters you enjoyed, please!


	10. Surprise a Day Keeps Madam Pomfrey Away

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling_

_A/N: Yes, I know, it seems impossible that I could possibly update _twice _in one week; I'm a little shocked too! All I can say is that summer has left me with a desire to write and a ridiculous amount of time on my hands._

o.O.o

The first thing Lily could hear was the hard grate of shouting against her ears.

She could make out Roxanne's shrill voice piercing the air, accompanied by a more soothing tone. Both were followed by a deeper, fuller one that made her head spin a little. The voices rose and fell like waves, washing over her until her skin was worn down and raw.

"-all your fault, you git! Do you think I'm stupid? Honestly-"

"I didn't know, alright? I wouldn't have ever-!"

"Could you both just be _quiet_? You're going to wake her."

A hard pressure on her arm caught her attention, and Lily's eyelids flickered open reflexively. The fuzzy blur in front of her inhaled sharply.

"Lily?" She blinked twice, trying to focus. The voices cut off suddenly, pausing to listen. She could make out a relieved smile from the figure nearest to her. "Lily, are you alright?" Red hair now.

"Rose?" she croaked. Her vision came sharply into view, revealing an abated Rose. Her cousin's eyes were suspiciously shiny.

"That was some stunt you pulled." She shook her head, marveling at the sight of her. "I can't believe you're okay. You really are okay, right?"

"I'm fine." Lily switched her weight to her other side, testing it gingerly. It appeared to be intact. Other than the throbbing in her head, she felt perfectly normal. "I am fine, aren't I?"

"Madam Pomfrey says you should expect a full recovery by the end of the week," Rose promised. "As long as the swelling in your head goes down, you should be back for classes by Monday."

Lily nodded slowly, feeling the way the blood sloshed back and forth. She winced as it began to pound. "Er, Rose-"

"I'll get Madam Pomfrey," her cousin said automatically, jumping up. "And for Merlin's sake, Lily, hold still. You're bleeding right through your bandages."

"Oh." Lily pulled her hand away from her head and stared at it numbly. Her fingers were soaked in red. "Right."

She watched as Rose made a clucking sound, straightening her bed covers before hurrying off to get the matron. She looked around properly for the first time since she had opened her eyes; cots were lined neatly against the opposite wall, blending well with the white of their surroundings. A faint odor of antiseptic tickled her nose, and she could see late afternoon sunlight filtering lazily through the windows. The Hospital Wing.

Lily locked eyes with Roxanne, who stood pale and unmoving as a statue at the end of her bed. She seemed to be memorizing her with her eyes, as if she was certain that this could be the last time she ever saw her. Lily counted only one more visitor.

"_You_." She blinked in surprise, causing Roxanne to stir from her trance. Lily bit the inside of her cheek. Her heart was pumping hard, though from what, she wasn't sure. The boy standing at the end of her bed smiled.

"Me," he echoed. His grin was sheepish as he crossed over to sit in the chair beside her bed. His golden eyes were a pot of melting carmel. He cleared this throat. "So this would be the part where I would normally apologize," Talc admitted. "But I'm not quite sure where to start, and how to apologize for all of it at once."

"I told him that sometimes the Japanese will cut off bits of their little finger as an apology," Roxanne said darkly, glaring at him, "but he didn't seem too fond of the idea."

Talc stiffened, though his eyes never left Lily's. "Would you like me to cut off my finger?" he asked seriously. "I'll do it, if you ask. You can even pick which one."

Lily cracked a smile. "Nah, you need those for beating." Turning to Roxanne, she added, "I'm fine, Rox. It's just a little bump to my head." Her cousin gave a short laugh.

"When you bleed out and die, I'll be sure to mention it to Uncle Harry," Roxanne said sarcastically. "Which, coincidentally, is where Lucy is right now."

"Lucy?" Talc asked curiously. Lily waved her hand impatiently.

"Another cousin of mine." She turned to frown at Roxanne. "You told my parents?"

"Like they weren't going to hear about it in the Prophet tomorrow," she snorted. "Al would have mailed them, but he's down in the showers."

An image of her brother drowning in guilt swallowed Lily whole. She sat up anxiously, ignoring the sudden sharp pain in her head. "Is he alright? Did he say anything?"

"Lily, you're the one in the hospital wing," Roxanne reminded her. "It's time to start worrying about yourself for a second." She shot a glare at Talc, as if it was his idea that she worry about anything else. Lily curled her fingers in anxiously.

"But Hugo?" she asked, directing her gaze to the boy beside her. She couldn't face Roxanne's disapproving expression. "He's alright too?"

"He's fine," Talc assured her. He sat back in his chair, rubbing at his chin. He didn't look entirely comfortable with the situation. "He was talking with your team, last I heard."

The start of a yellow-brown mark was barely visible under Talc's chin. Lily's eyes narrowed. "He hit you, didn't he?" she asked, grabbing his chin roughly to examine the spot. "Merlin, he did. And hard too, from the look of it. I'll talk to him later, Talc, I swear-"

"No." He grabbed her wrist, lowering it back down to the covers. He shook his head. "That wasn't Hugo." He paused. "Although he looked like he might have if he had gotten the chance."

"I wouldn't have stopped him," Roxanne muttered darkly. Lily's brow knitted together.

"Stop it, Rox." She frowned at her cousin. "It's not Talc's fault. You didn't exactly plan this, did you?" She turned to look pointedly at Talc, who shook his head.

"No." His voice was slow and reluctant. "But I'm Captain of the team, so that doesn't stop it from being any less my fault. I may as well have hit the bludger myself."

"My sentiments exactly!" Roxanne exclaimed. Lily opened her mouth to tell her off as she door swung open, allowing Rose to slip through. She was shortly followed by a flustered Madam Pomfrey.

"Quidditch injuries!" The matron complained. She took Lily's head firmly in her hands, applying what felt like a cool paste to her wound. Lily flinched as the salve made contact with the sensitive areas. "Such a foolish game," Madam Pomfrey went on, shaking her head. "If I had a galleon for every time I treated a quidditch-related injury, I could buy Hogsmede. Here." She began unravelling a piece of gauze as long as Lily's forearm. "This should do it."

"Madam Pomfrey?" They turned as the door creaked open. A first year boy with curly red hair stood awkwardly by the door, bouncing on his toes. He looked terrified to be at the hospital wing alone. "Er, do you have a moment?"

"Do I look like I have a moment, Mr. Mulligan?" the matron asked. Though her eyes were soft, her tone was sharp. The boy's eyes grew wide with fright.

"It's just that, well, Madam Hooch told me to tell you that-"

"Let me guess," she interrupted. "First-year flying lessons, yes?" The boy nodded fearfully. Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Very well. I'll be out in a moment." She shook her head in disgust, finishing the salve with a tight bandage. She gave a satisfied smile. "Rest up, Potter." She patted her arm briskly. "And please don't come back. I daresay I've seen enough of you and your family for a lifetime." Lily gave her an amused look.

"I'll try my best."

The door shut with a click behind her, leaving the four of them alone. Madam Pomfrey's retreating steps could be heard down the hall. Lily waited until they were out of hearing range before turning to Rose.

"I want Scorpius," she said.

There was a brief pause broken only by Rose's sharp inhale. Then, Roxanne exploded.

"I _told_ you!" she yelled, turning to stab a finger at Talc's chest. "This is all your fault, snake boy! Don't think for a second that I won't curse you until next Tuesday, because I will, and I will like it." She glared at him fiercely. "I swear to Merlin-"

"Roxanne-" Rose began. There was murder in Roxanne's eyes as she held up a hand.

"Don't you even start," she said, shaking her head. "Don't you dare start, Rose. You may think that you have her all figured out, but you don't, okay? While you were running around with your best Slytherin buds, I have been the one taking care of _Lily_." Her brown eyes had darkened to a black. "I know what's best for her, and right now, this is not it. The Lily I know wouldn't be thinking of Scorpius, wouldn't be asking for Scorpius. Hell, the Lily I know wouldn't want to be within a mile of Scorpius with a fifteen foot-long pole-"

"Roxanne Weasley!"

Rose's voice was like a whip in the silence, instantly stopping Roxanne's rant. Her cousin flinched as if Rose had slapped her.

"Yes?" Her voice was surprisingly tiny. Rose's eyes were sharp as knives, cutting through Roxanne where she stood.

"You talk about Slytherins as if they are objects of evil and cunning." Her words were laced with fire. "And I understand that, I do. But Slytherin is just a house, and the people in that house are just people. And they have feelings too."

"I know," Roxanne said softly. Her eyes flickered to where Talc sat, motionless. "I know that."

Rose's tone was unflinching. "Good. Then remember that it was a Slytherin who caught Lily, and know that we owe them a debt."

"You don't owe us anything," Talc cut in. His voice was hoarse, and his eyes were bloodshot. "It's our fault, and our mistake. We were just lucky enough to be the ones to fix it." He blinked blearily, rubbing his chin unconsciously. Lily noticed that he still wore his quidditch gear.

"Have you even showered?" she demanded, taking in his disheveled appearance. "Good Merlin, Talc, you look awful. And you _smell_." Talc cracked a smile.

"Nah, that's just you." He looked at her once more, sizing her up with his eyes. "You're really alright, Potter?"

"Yeah." Lily crinkled her nose. "I'm fine. Now, go." She waved vaguely at the door. "You need a shower."

Talc hesitated. "I shouldn't."

"You should," Lily said. "Otherwise I might die from sensory overload, and then there's no saving me." She pointed at the door. "Go. Now."

"Yes, Ma'am." He gave her one last smile before taking his leave, shutting the door behind him. Lily's smile immediately dropped, and she turned to frown at Roxanne.

"Did you really need to yell?" she asked, crossing her arms. "I actually like this one, and I'm horrid at making mates."

Roxanne shrugged unapologetically. "I like him too." She could probably read the surprise on Lily's face, because she smiled. "Not many blokes can take a hit from Scorpius Malfoy and make it look like a minor detail. This one has spark." Lily felt her mouth go dry.

"What?" she asked dumbly. Roxanne smirked.

"A spark, Lily. It's sort of like a fire, only smaller."

"Not that," Lily said impatiently. "That bruise - the one under Talc's chin - that was from _Malfoy_?" Rose looked at her cousin sharply.

"Roxanne." There was a warning note in her voice. Lily frowned.

"Why?" she persisted. "Where?"

"I'd say that it was fairly obvious Malfoy got him under the chin," Roxanne put in helpfully. Lily glowered at her.

"I meant where did the fight _happen_?" She turned to look at Rose. "Why didn't you do something? Or Al? Why did he hit him?" The questions were coming faster now, more rushed in their confusion.

"Lily..." Rose put a comforting hand over her forearm. "I don't know if you've ever seen Scorpius properly - er - _upset_, but it's not something to be messed with." She frowned. "Don't you think Al tried? Scorpius is - well, he wasn't okay before and he isn't okay now."

"I just don't understand," Lily repeated, her eyebrows drawing together. "Does he hate me that much? Is he upset that Talc saved me?" Roxanne and Rose exchanged a quick look. Lily felt a flash of fear. "What?" she demanded. "What is it?"

"Lily," Roxanne said carefully, treading as if on broken glass. "Talc didn't catch you."

"Pardon?" she asked wearily. The exhaustion was seeping into her voice. Rose and Roxanne exchanged a guilty look.

"Talc didn't catch you," Roxanne repeated. "He tried, but he couldn't get there fast enough." Lily shook her head in confusion.

"Well," she said irritably, "who did then?"

Rose held her gaze.

"Scorpius did."

o.O.o

"I just don't understand why everyone cares so damn much."

Lily balled up yet another edition of the prophet, throwing it forcefully into the growing pile beside her hospital bed. Her own crumpled face stared back at her. Above it, the bold caption _Lily Goes Loony_ jumped out at her like an accusation. Lucy reached across her bedside to pat her reassuringly on the hand.

"They don't," she soothed. "It's only in there because news has been slow lately."

"And because that Skeeter woman is a cow," Hugo put in helpfully. He took a large bite of his apple, spraying bits as he spoke. "'onestly, Lilsy, 'ou should complain."

"Not likely." Lily glared again at the stack of papers. "They'd just find a way to spin it to look like that was my latest in a string of psychotic breakdowns."

Lucy squeezed her hand reassuringly, but said nothing. It was a mark of how well they knew each other that no words needed to be spoken. Lily was again reminded of how grateful she was to have her two cousins visiting; the November chill had begun to seep into her bones, and any warmth these days was appreciated.

"You never did tell me what you did to get off classes today." She smirked as she lowered herself into the pillows, letting the softness cocoon her. "It must have been quite the stunt."

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Lucy said, though Lily noted that her face had turned an odd green color. Lily shot Hugo an admonishing look.

"You flew her out, didn't you?" she asked suspiciously. "That's why you were both so wet coming in here."

Hugo stopped mid-chew. He lowered the apple guiltily. "Er-"

"Hugo!" Lily threw one of the prophets at his head. "It's November! You could have killed her!" Lucy took this moment to give a well-placed sneeze. Hugo's guilty look intensified.

"It's not as if I didn't tell her to bundle up!" he said defensively. "And I cast at least five warming charms."

"'s alright, Lily." Lucy gave her a watery smile, coughing delicately. "I'm fine. And it was worth it to see you."

It was Lily's turn to squeeze her hand. "I'm glad you came," she said. "I haven't had many visitors, actually."

"Professor Longbottom's keeping them away." Hugo's voice was muffled as he searched for a rubbish bin in the Matron's office. He had evidently had enough of the apple. "I think he's worried about the press."

Lily's eyebrows knitted together. "He's back?"

"He came back right after your - er - accident," Lucy said hesitantly. She looked away, turning instead to the window. Her breath made frosted patches on the glass. "He wanted to speak with Slate."

Lily's freehand curled into a fist. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. "And?"

"He's off the team." Lucy gave her a tentative smile. "He's got a couple months of detention, too. He's organizing potion ingredients from what I heard."

"Good," Lily growled. "I hope he trips over his own feet and into a vat of frog eyes." If Lucy was alarmed by her tone, she didn't show it. Instead, she patted her hand again.

"The important part is that he's off the team now," she said reasonably.

"Not that he wouldn't have been anyway," Hugo said, emerging from the office. He swung himself onto the end of Lily's cot. "That one bloke kicked him off the team the second they landed. The captain." He frowned thoughtfully. "His name's Talc, right?"

"That's him." Lily picked at her bed sheets, playing with the frayed strings of fabric. She had thought a lot about Talc the past couple days. And she had thought more than she cared to admit about his bruise.

And the blue-eyed boy who had given it to him.

She felt her lips press together. But why?

"Lily?" Lucy asked. She jerked her head up, blinking. Lucy was looking at her oddly. "What do you mean?"

"Hmm?" Now they were both looking at her like she was insane. She could practically see the desire for calling Madam Pomfrey warring against the drawbacks of being caught in Hugo's eyes. Lucy lay a cool hand on her forehead.

"You were saying something," she prodded. "Just now. You said 'but why?'"

It took Lily a moment to realize that she had spoken aloud. Blood flooded her cheeks. "Oh," she said eloquently. "That. Er, I just meant..." Her brain scrambled for a moment, clambering to find purchase on a shaky rock cliff. "That, ah..."

Lucy frowned. "What is it, Lily?"

"Did Scorpius hit Talc?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, rushing over each other like stones tumbling in a pond. She immediately flushed. "I mean, I heard that he- but never mind, it doesn't matter." She tugged at the collar of her sweater, uncomfortably hot.

Hugo squinted as if he was not quite able to make her out. "Why are you all red, Lilsy?"

"Because I'm ill!" she snapped. Seeing Hugo's look of hurt, she quickly backpedalled. "Sorry. I've just been shut up here for too long with no one to talk to. Even the flies are getting sick of my voice."

"That's alright, Lily." Lucy's voice was careful, as if she might break at any moment. "It's just... how much did you hear? About Talc and Scorpius?"

"Enough." Sensing their reluctance, Lily added, "Rose mentioned that they got into a fight. She didn't really say much."

"A fight?" Hugo chuckled in disbelief. "My sister called it a _fight_?"

"Well, not exactly," Lily said, stung. "She said it was more like a punch, really-" She broke off, interrupted by Hugo's loud laughter. "What? What's so funny?"

"It's not really," he chuckled. He wiped at his eyes. "It's just that it made all that World War stuff in Muggle Studies look like child's play. I wouldn't have called it a fight; maybe a battle, or a duel-"

"They _dueled_?" Lily asked in disbelief. Lucy gave Hugo an admonishing look.

"Stop it, Hugo," she ordered, planting her hands on her hips. "You're worrying her."

"I'm not worried," Lily said quickly. Seeing Lucy's doubtful look, she added, "I'm not, really. I just don't understand why they were attacking each other. Isn't there some Slytherin rule about that?"

"I believe what you're looking for here is the bro code," Hugo threw in helpfully. Lily pointed a finger at him.

"Yes. That," she said, shooting a questioning look at Lucy. "What happened to the bro code?" Lucy fidgeted with the clasp on her robe.

"I'm not sure, exactly," she said. "There was a lot of shouting. Scorpius was saying something about it being Talc's fault-"

"But it wasn't," Lily interrupted. She shook her head. "He wasn't even near me. It was Slate who hit the bludger."

"Rotten little bugger too," Hugo said calmly. "I wouldn't be opposed to giving him a good thrashing." His smile was sharp ice over honey. Lily swallowed.

"No," she commanded. "No thrashing allowed."

Hugo gave her a disappointed look. "But-"

"No." Lily turned back to Lucy. "So why were they fighting?" Lucy abandoned the clasp, moving instead to the lining of her robes.

"That's what Talc told Scorpius," she explained. Seeing Lily's look of confusion, she elaborated. "He said that he was sorry, but that he had already kicked Slate off the team, and that there was nothing more he could do."

"And there wasn't," Lily said, puzzled. Lucy offered her a small smile.

"That's not what Scorpius thought. I've never seen anything like it, Lils." She shook her head in amazement. "One minute he was completely calm, and the next Talc was on the ground. It looked like he hadn't even moved."

"Was Al there?" Lily asked. She shook her head, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. "He must have done it for Al."

"Al was with me," Hugo said. He cleared his throat. "We were - er - _talking_ with some of the other Slytherins on the team."

"But..." Lily frowned. "Why would he do it, then? Why did he care so much?" Her mind was struggling to find a logical explanation, something that fit. Lucy finally looked up from where she had been playing with her robes. She took Lily's hand again, rubbing warmth back into it.

"I think," she said, "that he did it because he cares."

"Cares about what?" Lily asked. Lucy smiled.

"You."

o.O.o

_A/N: The romance has started! Thank-you all for your lovely reviews last chapter (especially the one that took me a whole five minutes to read; you know who you are! I only wish I could reply to you). I know it won't be easy, but I would love it if you could spend the time to give me as much feedback as you all did last time; please and thank-you?_

_Favourite characters? Predictions? Quotes? Let me know!_


	11. The Harsh Grate of Truth

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!_

_A/N: So, I was away. And the worst part about being away was the significant lack of internet connection from my laptop, which results in no posting. But I have written up to Chapter 15 now, so you can expect a lot more updating! Yay!_

o.O.o

Lily rubbed her hands together, breathing warm air into her cupped palms. She watched as her breath gathered in misty spirals, twisting up and into the bleak sky. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, letting the cold bring life back into her. It was ironic, really; the Hospital Wing was designed to save lives, but it lacked the actual joy and freedom life so often inspired.

"_Tu ne sais pas que vous êtes belle, vous le faites?_"

Lily's eyes snapped open. She blinked, focusing on the blonde boy in front of her. "You speak French?"

Scorpius reclined lazily against a nearby tree. Bits of frost mingled with the white-blonde of his hair, blending in so well that you almost wouldn't be able to notice. He smiled sharply at her. "Not well."

Lily frowned. "What did you say?"

"Already having hearing problems, Potter?" He shook his head. "You're a little young, don't you think?"

"Not that," Lily said, nettled. "What did you say just now, in French?"

"I said that you look like a git just standing there." His tone was calm, neutral. She felt a flash of disappointment, but quickly stifled it. She had nothing to be upset over. Scorpius reclined farther back against the base of the oak. "How long have you been waiting?" Lily shrugged.

"Long enough," she said. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come or not." She shifted uncomfortably, blowing more warm hair into her frozen hands. Scorpius's blue eyes were unreadable as he watched her.

"I wasn't sure either," he said finally. "It's not every day you get an owl from Lily Potter."

Lily bit her lip. Unspoken words passed between them, fleeting and unsaid. She could see the questions in his eyes, bubbling to the surface; _why would you ask me to meet you and not Al?_

"I heard you hit Talc."

She regretted her words almost instantly. Scorpius's face closed off like a steel trap springing closed. His muscles tightened almost reflexively, and his jaw clenched. He looked at her coolly. "That's a statement."

"It wasn't meant to be a question." She shivered, plopping down on the frozen ground so that they were almost level. She squinted, scrutinizing his expression. "Why did you do it?"

The frost clung to his eyelashes now, making perfect tiny crystals when he looked at her. "Does it matter?" His warm breath sent tingles down her spine. She lowered her gaze.

"It does to me."

His eyes were like magnets, drawing her into them. The blood in her body began to pound, and she could feel the heat building inside of her. Scorpius shifted slightly, brushing his cloak against her bare wrist. A jolt of electricity went through her, sparking like an electric shock. Scorpius turned away, the blonde hair falling into his face.

"Dear Merlin," he said neutrally, "I hope you have a better reason for asking me to come and meet you. This isn't exactly a pleasure trip for me, Potter."

The fire building inside her quickly sputtered and died, replaced with the bitter taste of annoyance. A sense of relief filled her; this, at least, she knew how to handle. "This isn't exactly a barrel of kittens for me either, Malfoy," she snapped impatiently. "But you don't exactly see me complaining about it, do you?" Scorpius gave her a lazy smile.

"Tell me, do you enjoy contradicting yourself, or does it happen accidentally?"

"Only when you're around." His smile grew wider.

"Are you saying I'm special?"

Lily snorted. "If you mean in the head, then yes."

"So I'm in your head a lot."

"Mostly my nightmares, actually."

"You dream about me?" He was grinning now. "That's sweet."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Look here, Malfoy," she said, stabbing a finger at his chest. "I didn't ask you to stop by for a nice pot of tea, alright? There's something I want to talk about."

She braced herself for a cutting comment, searching his expression for a sign of humor. But his face had turned uncharacteristically sober. "Actually, there is something you should know, Potter."

Lily felt any humor evaporate. It was there in his eyes; the cold grate of truth against her bones. She shivered again, though she no longer felt cold. "What? What is it?"

He blew out a long breath, creating swirling tendons of mist that twined together like snakes. His eyes were trained on them, following their dance toward the sky. "The bludger that hit you; it had a mark on it."

Lily frowned. "You mean from where it hit me? I left an indent?" Her mind was struggling, working to understand. Scorpius shook his head. He looked almost annoyed.

"C'mon, Potter, you can do better than that." He shook his head in disappointment. "The mark - the one we saw the night of the big panic. Someone charmed it onto the bludger before it hit you."

The cold wrapped around her menacingly now, choking the air from her throat. She felt her head begin to spin. "How do you know? Did you see it?"

A flicker of discomfort ran across Scorpius's face. He shrugged. "Talc mentioned it." His mouth curled around the words as if they were bitter and unpleasant. Lily felt the icy chill seep into her bones.

"Talc knew?" The words were barely a whisper. She cleared her throat, embarrassed. "Did he know before or after the match?"

"You want to know whether he knew about the plan." It wasn't a question, but Lily nodded anyways. Scorpius's gaze was steely. "No, he didn't."

"Oh." She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "That's... good, I guess."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "My definition of good and your definition of good are very different, clearly." He shook his head. "Have you even stopped to consider the fact that someone just tried to kill you?"

"I wouldn't say _kill_ exactly," Lily said distractedly. "More like _injure_ or _seriously harm_-"

"Merlin." Scorpius cut her off, casting his eyes skyward. "You have as much self-preservation as a fly in a bug-zapper."

Lily turned to glare at him. "Just because I look at things logically doesn't mean I have a death wish." Scorpius's mouth twisted into the ghost of a smile.

"No, Rose looks at things logically." He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. "_You_, on the other hand, seem content to make things up as you go along."

Lily was surprised to find that she was actually stung. "That's not true."

Scorpius merely raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, snake boy," she snapped irritably. "And, believe it or not, I was thinking _logically_ earlier, which incidentally is the only reason I'm here right now." She glared at him. "So don't get too comfortable with this new _feelings _concept, alright? Because it's not going to last." She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling her lungs heave with suppressed rage.

There was a short silence. Lily could feel her cheeks flooding with heat, whether from the cold or her anger she couldn't tell. Scorpius gave her a long, slow smile.

"Potter," he drawled. "The anger thing is cute at first, but then it gets old. You're never going to find someone who's willing to put up with it." He smirked in a self-satisfied sort of way, relaxing back into the tree again. "And then you'll probably grow old and die alone. I'm sure the press will have a field day." His smile was sweet poison as he delivered the final blow. "But you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Lily felt his words like a physical slap. She sat utterly motionless for a moment, replaying his words in her head over and over again until they hurt like a dull ache. _Never going to find someone... grow old and die alone...but you'd like that, wouldn't you?_ She tried to speak, but it only came out as a croak.

"Potter?" Scorpius sounded uncharacteristically tentative. "Er, are you alright?" Lily sat very still for a moment, letting the rage run through her veins like hot poison. Her nails cut into the flesh of her palm.

"_You_," she spit, "are hateful, and cruel, and self-centered. You don't think before you speak, and if you do it's only to decide how best to hurt someone." She paused here to take a breath, waiting for the anger to ebb. If nothing, she could only feel another tidal wave of it building. "I don't _like_ you. I haven't ever liked you, and I will never like you." Her voice was iron and steel. "It will only be possible to love someone like you when hell goes cold." Scorpius's eyes were hard when he looked at her.

"You judge people a lot for someone who complains about being judged all the time."

Lily recoiled, feeling the truth of his words hit her like blows. The anger finally faded to be replaced by a faint echo of shame. When she spoke, she focused on the tree to the left of his face. "It's getting late. We should go in."

Scorpius stood, brushing his hands on his trousers. "You had a reason for asking me to meet you, I assume? Aside from yelling at me about what an arsehole you think I am." There was no amusement in his tone, only a grating truth. Lily flinched.

_ "_I think we should tell the others," she said, ignoring the latter part of his statement. "They deserve to know about the list. And... about the rest of it, too." Scorpius's face was stone as he looked at her.

"There's no classes tomorrow," he said shortly. "Be in your dorm room at one. Rose can't make it, but Al and I can fill her in later."

Lily frowned. "How are you going to get in? Even if you manage to get the password, the stairs won't let you up to the girl's dormitories."

His expression was unmoved. "Leave that part to me." He turned to go, his footsteps making crunching sounds as he walked toward the castle. Lily bit her lip.

"Scorpius!" she called impulsively. He turned, raising one eyebrow. She took a deep breath. "I-" She glanced down at the ground, summoning her Gryffindor courage. "I'm an idiot, alright? Just forget what I said."

She hopped from one foot to the other, shifting nervously. He inclined his head before turning, leaving her with only her thoughts and the cold wind for company.

o.O.o

"Let me get this straight."

Roxanne looked at her from where she hung upside down on the bed in their dorm, her hair dangling in dark plaits to the floor. "You, Lily Potter, daughter of the famous Harry Potter and golden girl of the wizarding world, invited a bunch of boys to our dorm?" Her smile was wicked. "I'm impressed."

"Lucy's the golden girl," Lily said simply. She moved from where she sat by the window to flop down on her own bed, facing Roxanne. "And, in case you've forgotten Rox, we're related to most of those bunch of boys." Her cousin frowned, as if contemplating this idea for the first time. The expression was odd to see upside down.

"You're right." She shook her head, sending her hair flying. "We should have invited that Talc bloke."

"_Talc_?" Lily looked at her cousin incredulously. "You hate Talc!" Roxanne shrugged.

"I told you, I don't _hate_ him. And he's nice to look at."

Lily sighed, settling back against her pillows. It was exactly twelve-forty, twenty minutes before Scorpius had told her to expect them. She winced as she thought again of how she had yelled at him, accusing him of essentially being a soulless monster. It was a wonder that he still wanted anything to do with her.

"Stop it." Lucy's voice came from the corner, where she leant against a trunk with a book propped on her knees. Her eyes continued to scan the page as she spoke, a skill she had perfected over the years between Roxanne and Lily. Lily frowned.

"What?" Lucy glanced up to give her a pointed look.

"You're doing it again." She flipped a page idly, continuing to read. "But it's not worth worrying about now, anyways. You're beating yourself up over nothing." Across from her, Roxanne snorted in a very un-ladylike manner.

"I don't see why you would care," she said for the thousandth time. "So you told him the truth; someone had to do it." Her face was turning red from the combined effort of speaking and remaining upside down. She craned her neck to look at Lily as she spoke. "Personally, I'm upset that you didn't hit him across the face too."

"It's just the way he looked _after_," Lily explained yet again. "He didn't even yell! He looked almost... disappointed in me." She winced, remembering his words about how she of all people should know better than to judge someone. There was a rustle as Lucy flipped another page.

"I say you just talk to him about it." She frowned, bending closer to inspect a passage. "That would be easiest, right?"

There was silence as Roxanne and Lily stared at her incredulously. Roxanne shook her head at Lily in disbelief before turning back toward Lucy. "Lucy..." She spoke as if talking to a small child. "You don't just _talk_ to Scorpius Malfoy. That's like offering yourself to a hungry lion. And wrapping yourself in bacon beforehand."

Lucy looked up briefly to quirk an eyebrow in their direction. "It would be better than all Lily's alternative methods of dealing with stress." She looked around the messy room pointedly, shaking her head. "Honestly, Lils, how can you even find anything in here?"

Lily fidgeted with her fingers. Her gaze wandered from the overflowing drawers to the cloaks that had been thrown randomly around the room. She flinched as she saw a box of bertie botts strewn from their bathroom to the door. "Sorry, Lu. I can't even remember how I did this, actually."

"I can," Roxanne volunteered helpfully. "It involved a kniffler and several strategically hidden shiny items." Lily flushed. She felt a squirm of guilt go through her.

"Sorry."

Roxanne grinned. "Don't apologize to me. I prefer it this way." Lucy chuckled.

"Only because you grew up with Fred for a brother." She set down the book, swivelling to face Lily. Her concern was evident in the worry lines above her brow. "You realize that by not dealing with this, you're making yourself unhappy, right?"

"I'm always unhappy when it comes to Scorpius," Lily said tiredly. She forced her face into a small smile just for Lucy, willing her to believe it. Her cousin smiled uncertainly back at her.

"I just-"

There was a sudden BANG as the window flew open, causing Lucy to shriek and topple from her corner. Roxanne sat bolt upright, swearing and fumbling for her wand. Lily was already on her feet, pointing her's steadily at the window.

Three figures hovered outside the frame, laughing manically. Hugo was leaning heavily on the front part of his broom, clutching his stomach as he gasped for air. Scorpius looked close to falling from his broom. Lily scowled at her brother, who was seated almost directly under the window.

"Al!" she complained, picking up a nearby sock and hurling it at his head. "What were you thinking? I could have killed you!" Her brother had tears in his eyes when he looked up, still struggling for air.

"You- should- have- seen- your- faces!" He doubled up with laughter, causing Lily to slam the window shut, glaring. This only caused all three boys to start in hysterics yet again. Scowling, she stalked back toward her bed, throwing herself beside Roxanne. Her cousin looked murderous.

"Has anybody got a bag of newts and a unicorn hair handy?" she asked hopefully. "I'm fairly certain they're toxic, if not lethal, when paired."

"That's a bag of lizards and a unicorn hair," Albus corrected her. He flew gracefully into the room, landing lightly in the middle. "A bag of newts and a unicorn hair would just make everything smell."

"Merlin." Hugo flew in after, awkwardly maneuvering his wide shoulders through the frame. His eyes widened as he took in the room. "What happened here?"

"Knifflers." Lily shrugged. "Happens to the best of us."

"Only if you live in a dragon hoard." Scorpius flew in silently, landing without a noise. His gaze flicked around the room, noting the various objects. He lingered as he passed the spot where her broom hung, untouched since her last game where she had fallen. A curious light entered his eyes. "Been out flying lately, Potter?"

"Not yet." She glanced quickly at Hugo, who was staring at her broom as well. "I haven't felt like it lately." Hugo frowned.

"You haven't flown for almost a month?" The disbelief in his voice was saturated with concern. "Lily, I knew you weren't coming to practices, but-"

"I'm fine," Lily interrupted. "The next game isn't until after hols, right?" Seeing his unconvinced expression, she added, "I don't want to risk getting injured before then. We're off for holiday in a week, Hugo."

"Oh." His expression cleared up, and he nodded energetically. "That's a fair point, actually." He was so easily convinced of her words, so innocently childlike, that Lily felt slightly disappointed. He had already turned away to examine the condition of her broom.

"You're not." Lily turned to find Scorpius looking at her, his blue eyes unreadable. She swallowed thickly, a faint sense of alarm setting into her bones.

"I'm not what?" she asked. Scorpius raised one eyebrow.

"You're not alright." He said it simply, as if it was a fact. She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand. "We both know what I mean, Potter." His eyes shifted toward her broom.

The alarm bells were ringing stronger now. "I-"

"Scorpius!" They both turned to find Albus watching them. Lily jumped back automatically, unawares of how close they had gotten. Albus was staring hard at the space between them. "You wanted to talk, right mate?"

Lily cleared her throat, taking a step forward. "Actually, I wanted to talk to all of you." She could feel Scorpius's gaze drilling into the back of her head, but she kept her eyes facing the front. He had done enough for her, and if there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was being in debt to Scorpius Malfoy. "I haven't been entirely honest."

Immediately, the mood of the room shifted. Everyone was serious, alert. "Lily?" Hugo asked.

She exhaled heavily, taking a seat. "Here's what you need to know..."

She told them all of it. The list, and the horcruxes. How her father had most likely had something to do with it, which is why he was probably famous. She told them everything until she thought her head might explode from the truth of it all, the rush of relief and anticipation as she let her burdens be known.

It went down about as well as expected.

"And you knew about this for _how long_?" Roxanne demanded, crossing her arms. Albus was shaking his head.

"Dad would have told us, Lily. He wouldn't have kept it a secret like that. Not something that big."

Hugo was staring at her, dumbstruck. "Horcruxes actually exist?" His mind seemed to be working through a complex puzzle, turning the pieces until they fit together. "Does Rose know?"

Lily held up a hand, silencing them all. "I can't answer you all at once!" She turned toward Lucy, praying to Merlin that at least one of them had understood. Lucy's eyes were alight with the look of a Ravenclaw discovering newfound knowledge.

"That's why you fell off of your broom, wasn't it?" she asked. "You were thinking about how the list must have fit with the book you found it in, and you weren't paying attention."

"No," Hugo interjected immediately. "She was yelling at Scorpius, weren't you Lilsy? You weren't distracted, you were just..." His voice trailed off as a thought seemed to occur to him. "Oh. You were telling him about the horcruxes on the list." _You were telling him and not me_, his hurt tone seemed to add. Lily felt her throat tighten.

"Hugo..." She reached out a hand uncertainly. He shifted away from her, opting to stare out the window instead.

"I get it."

"You _knew_?" Albus turned to stare at Scorpius in disbelief. He looked as if he was seeing him for the first time. "You knew all along about the list, the list that had information about my _father_, and you never told me?"

For the first time since she had ever met him, Lily thought that Scorpius looked uncomfortable. "Al, I was going to tell you. I just-"

"Don't bother." He adopted a pose similar to Hugo's, his eyes fixed on the window. "Did Rose know too?"

"No." Scorpius glanced down, his expression unreadable. "It was just Lily and I."

A silence fell, heavy and thick between the six of them. Lily could see that Lucy's mind was still spinning, digesting all that she had heard. The others, she thought hesitantly, were either doing the same or plotting how best to yell at her. Eventually, to Lily's immense relief, Roxanne hopped to her feet.

"Alright," she said firmly. "I get it. You're all angry, I'm angry, everyone's angry. But we all keep things to ourselves, don't we?" She shrugged. "I, for one, know what the mark on the bludger that hit Lily means." She ignored the weight of everyone's shocked expressions, continuing on easily. "Lucy had probably figured half of this out already, and I'm fairly certain that Hugo knows something as well, because he's been fidgeting guiltily with his shirt for the last ten minutes. The point is that everyone has secrets; we just need to learn to trust one another with them."

It was such an inspired and unexpected speech from Roxanne that Lily couldn't help but smile at her cousin. To her relief, Roxanne winked back. She took her seat again, settling in as an abrupt and heavy silence followed her words. Hugo shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"The list is in my mother's writing," he admitted. "I wasn't sure whether I should say something, just in case... well." He looked apologetically at Lily. "Your dad's name was crossed off, and I love Uncle Harry, but I love my mother more."

"I know," Lily said, reaching forward to squeeze his hand. "I understand." He let her this time, offering her a quick grin. Roxanne rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, you two are best mates for life and stuff," she said brusquely. "Now, do you want to hear about the mark that almost killed you, or not?"

"Go ahead." Lily felt oddly calm, relieved that anything she had neglected to mention was on the table for everyone to see. Roxanne scrunched up her face.

"This is all coming from that Talc bloke before you woke up, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's all mad."

Surprisingly, it was Al that spoke. "Talc's not a bad guy." He shrugged. "Whatever he said is probably true."

Roxanne frowned as if she seriously doubted it. "Well, he said the mark - the same one that was in the sky that night - was a symbol used in the first war to signify death. He called it something... I can't quite remember what-"

"The dark mark."

They all spun around to face the door. Rose strolled briskly into the room, her face flushed from running. She carried a stack of books in her arms. "I ran into Talc as I left Advanced Potions. He wanted me to tell you, Lily." She sat down on a bed beside Lucy, who immediately unburdened her. Rose sighed in relief, shaking life back into her arms.

"He wanted you to tell me?" Lily asked, frowning. "Did he say anything else?"

"Was he threatening her?" Scorpius interrupted. His mood had shifted abruptly, changing into something Lily barely recognized. His grip had tightened on the bedsheets. Rose shook her head.

"I think he was trying to warn you about something." She lifted a shoulder. "He didn't say much. Just that I should tell you what it was called."

"The Dark Mark," Roxanne snorted. "It even rhymes."

Hugo raised his eyebrows. "I'm glad you find a symbol of mass destruction amusing."

"Okay." They all turned to face Lucy, who had reached an expression of understanding. Lily waited impatiently as her cousin ran through the details in her mind before nodding in satisfaction. "The list mentions six horcruxes, listed in a seemingly random order. It's probably safe, therefore, to assume that they belong to a single wizard as they aren't matched up or numbered. Two names are mentioned on the list; Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Both are famous today."

She looked to Lily, who nodded encouragingly. Lucy thought a moment before continuing. "Taking into account that the public idealizes them, chances are that they helped to destroy the wizard who the list describes. He'll have been the instigator of the first war." Lucy drew a long breath, preparing for the home stretch. "This leads me to believe that the mark was used to symbolize his kills, and was therefore used in the match as a, er, message, for Lily."

The room was oddly silent for a moment. Lily could feel the uneven pounding of her heart. "You think they're trying to kill me?" Her voice was strangely calm. Albus shook his head.

"Of course not. That's ridiculous." He turned toward Rose. "Tell her that's ridiculous."

Rose met Lily's eyes. "I think Lucy's right."

"You can't be serious." Albus looked at all of their faces, checking for any signs of humor. Hugo was also shaking his head.

"If it is true, we have to tell someone," he said doggedly. "This isn't a game. I'm not seeing you get hurt, Lily."

"But what would you tell them?" Rose asked reasonably. "That you think some students are trying to kill Lily? That you've been looking into everything they tried to hide from us? Be reasonable, Hugo. They're either going to lock all of us in a nuthouse or keep us barricaded in the Burrow."

"Is it worth her safety?" Scorpius's voice was low, and he was watching Rose carefully. "Would you risk it, Rose?" Lily looked at him in surprise. Rose puckered her lips as if tasting something sour.

"It's up to us," she said simply.

Lily felt the weight of it all hit her shoulders, aging her years. She could see the unwilling acceptance creeping onto all of their faces, reluctant as they all were. But the truth sat in front of them.

It had always been just them.

o. O. o

_A/N: Alright, I know this chapter wasn't exactly the most exciting thing ever. But we had some of our first real interaction between Lily and Scorpius! I promise the next bit will for sure be a little bit more... fast-paced?_

_Drop me a review, please!_

_Extra bonus points if you realized that one of the characters lied in this chapter._


	12. A Hell of a Holiday

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling_

_A/N: Thank-you all for the kind reviews! I love hearing from all of you. This was one of my favorite chapters to write, and I hope you enjoy reading it just as much._

o.O.o

The Burrow looked as if a dragon had vomited a load of tinsel.

Piles of silver streamers swung dangerously from the roof, knocking people in the head as they passed by. Dozens of twinkling lights hung from a gigantic tree that tottered in the corner, kept upright only by the wall. Lily counted at least fifty gnomes, stupefied and stuffed into miniature outfits, their beady eyes glaring out at them all indignantly. Roxanne had even taken the time to create hats for everyone with an image of a kniffler with reindeer horns attacking a box of presents.

"I still think these are a little coincidental," Lily said suspiciously. She turned to wave her hat in Roxanne's face. "Knifflers don't have anything to do with Christmas."

Roxanne adopted an offended expression, putting her hand over her heart. "Knifflers are under appreciated. I thought it might be nice to represent the minority." Lily's eyes narrowed over the rim of her butterbeer.

"And you just happened to use a kniffler?"

Her cousin shrugged. "It was an inspired idea."

There was a loud bang from the kitchen, followed by a stream of yelling from Grandma Molly. Lily turned to see Albus and Scorpius rush out of door. Both were laughing so hard that they had tears in their eyes. She frowned.

"I still don't see why he's here," Roxanne said moodily, voicing Lily's thoughts. She shook her head in disgust. "It's enough that we have to put up with him at school. Seeing him every morning in the kitchen is going to cost me my appetite."

Lily followed her cousin's gaze to where the two boys sat, strikingly obvious in a crowd of red-hair. She felt a sour taste rise in her mouth. "Albus said that he wanted to be here in case we learned anything else."

"And he couldn't just send him an owl?" Roxanne pulled a face. "They're worse than your dad and Uncle Ron." With a shake of her head she stood up, glowering as she stalked toward the table. Lily bit her lip.

The truth was that the reason for Scorpius's stay intrigued her more than she cared to admit. Roxanne had a fair point; why wouldn't Al just _owl_ Scorpius? Surely there was no reason for him to stay with a bunch of people he could barely tolerate, and most of whom didn't enjoy his company either. Every time she thought about it, the less sense it made.

"Lily!" Her head snapped up, trying to locate the voice in the crowd of Weasley's and Potter's. She smiled when she saw Molly wave her over. "You can't avoid me forever."

"There's only one person I plan to avoid, actually. And it's not you." She hopped up on the counter near Molly, letting her feet dangle over the edge. Her cousin scowled.

"Join the club."

Lily looked at her cousin in surprise. Molly's scowl deepened, and she threw back a glass of firewhiskey like it was water. Lily noticed that her hand was shaking.

"Woah there." She took the glass carefully, setting it on her opposite side. "I think you've had enough."

Molly's expression shifted abruptly, changing from a fierce glare to a pitiful guilt. Her wide eyes made her look younger than she really was. "I'm sorry. I'm drunk."

Lily had to laugh. "Yes, you are." She patted her hand consolingly. "It's alright, though. Scorpius is an absolute nut job, but he'll be gone soon enough-"

"_Scorpius_?" Molly's face twisted in confusion. She shook her head wildly, causing her whole body to sway. "I'm not talking about Scorpius."

It was Lily's turn to be confused. "Then who are _you_ talking about?"

Molly's expression darkened again. "Louis." She reached for another glass. Lily's hand shot out to catch her wrist, years of chasing experience kicking in. She frowned.

"Louis? You love Louis!"

Molly flinched. "_Loved_ Louis," she corrected her. "Past tense."

Lily released her cousin's wrist, following her gaze to where Louis stood, chatting with a blonde girl. Even from this distance, Lily could tell that she was a veela.

"He brought a date?" she guessed, squinting to see them better. From what she could tell, the blonde seemed perfectly harmless. She glanced back to Molly in confusion. "Is she being rude to you, or something?"

Her cousin laughed bitterly. "No, that's the problem." She was definitely wobbling now, holding herself up on the counter. "She's being _nice_ to me. She's nice to everyone, actually. Apparently Fleur can really pick them."

"Aunt Fleur set them up?" Lily clarified. Molly nodded, rocking back and forth so much that she nearly fell over. Lily frowned, pushing her cousin gently back into the counter. "Molly, I don't get it."

The brunette sighed. "Me neither. Got any more firewhiskey?" Her words slurred together, as if her tongue was too heavy to lift. Lily cringed.

"Mols, I think it's time you go to bed." She searched desperately for a pair of thoughtful grey-eyes and mahogany hair in the crowd. "I can get Lucy to-"

"No!" Molly careened into her, sending them both stumbling into the counter. Her breath smelled of alcohol and mints. "Don't tell Lucy. She'll tell my dad."

"Fine." Lily removed herself from Molly, a little miffed at being thrown into the counter. She rubbed her hip where the edge had cut a mark. "You leave me no choice, then."

She marched purposefully to where Louis stood, talking with the blonde. He seemed to be saying something, gesturing obviously with his hands. Her face was one of confusion.

"I don't _understand_," she said slowly, pointing to her ears. "I don't know what you're saying! I speak english. _English_!" Lily watched for a moment, bemused, as Louis made another grand gesture.

"_Ma mère dit que vous étiez intelligent. De toute évidence, elle avait tort._" He smirked in a self-satisfied sort of way. The blonde pouted.

"This is the worst set up ever," she grumbled. Turning toward Louis, she added, "You don't even understand what I'm saying!"

"_Oh, mais je comprends_," he said slyly. Lily coughed to hide her amusement.

"Excuse me." They both turned quickly, jumping a little. From behind the blonde, Louis shot her a pleading look. Lily's smile widened. "I need to talk to you for a moment, Louis." The blonde girl smirked.

"Good luck with that," she said. "I've been trying all evening."

"_Je ne comprends pas l'anglais_," Louis agreed hurriedly. "_Je ne-_"

"Oh, cut the rubbish, Louis." Lily glared at her cousin, crossing her arms. She jerked a thumb behind her. "Molly is absolutely smashed. I need someone to clean her up before she projectile vomits all over the kitchen."

"_Molly_?" Louis's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "She's _drinking_?"

"She _was_ drinking," Lily corrected him,. She gestured to where Molly now stood, swaying slightly in an effort to remain standing. "She stopped when she fell on top of me and into a counter."

"Hold on." The blonde turned toward Louis, an expression of irritated disbelief coming over her face. "You understand english?"

Louis looked as if he hadn't even heard her. "How long was she drinking for?" He grabbed Lily's shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "What was she drinking?"

"Ow!" Lily complained. "Louis, she wasn't exactly drinking pumpkin juice, alright? I didn't ask for details. Now let go before I curse you." The dark-haired boy immediately dropped her, jogging in the opposite direction. Lily rubbed her shoulder again indignantly.

"I can so not believe this," the veela grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Lily couldn't help but smile.

"That makes two of us."

Saving herself from further discussion, she casually sidled over to where Fred and James stood, both singing loudly and rather off-key. Nearby, Uncle George was directing them with what appeared to be the broken off head of a carrot.

"Do I want to know?" Lily asked, sliding in next to Angelina. Her aunt smiled.

"You should be grateful that you missed the Celestina Warbeck." She cringed, looking guiltily toward where her husband stood before adding, "Your Uncle George can't sing to save his life."

"I wondered where Roxanne got it from," Lily admitted. She looked over her shoulder to where her cousin stood, still sulking at the table. Lucy was patting her on the hand, though she didn't look entirely happy with the situation either. Angelina was looking at her daughter as well.

"Roxie hates them, doesn't she? Slytherins. But she'll grow used to the idea," Angelina said half-heartedly. Lily thought it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than her niece. "I mean, she won't have to see Scorpius every day, but if he becomes part of the family-"

"_What_?" Lily nearly spit up the butterbeer she had been drinking, coughing profusely. Angelina looked at her mildly, as if she had forgotten that she was even there.

"Well, everyone's been saying that he and Rose are an item now. Or if they aren't, they're bound to be soon." Lily immediately looked to where the two sat huddled near the fire, laughing. Rose casually rumpled his hair and he shrugged, as if to say that he didn't mind. Lily felt her stomach drop.

"I don't think so." She couldn't tear her eyes away from where the two sat, and the oddest feeling began to churn in her stomach. "I think they're just friends."

Angelina raised an eyebrow as if she seriously doubted it. "If you say so."

"Dinner time!" Grandma Molly called. James and Fred immediately stopped singing, their faces lighting up with eager anticipation. Their grandmother looked at them sternly. "Wash-up beforehand, you two. Don't think I don't know about the gnomes you scavenged from the garden."

The procession began as everyone began to filter toward the kitchen, crowding around the scrubbed table that bowed under the weight of all the dishes. Lily could see a roasted pork, accompanied by a thick, creamy soup and a couple loaves of freshly baked bread. Salads and pastas littered the table, spilling over the edges and into other dishes. A chocolate cake as wide around as half the table was cooling on top of the oven.

"It's amazing, isn't it? My mum says that she's been doing this since they were kids." Lily jumped, turning to find Rose shaking her head in awe at the display. "And she does most of it without magic."

"Oh." Lily couldn't think what to say. For some inexplicable reason, every time she looked at her cousin, she felt as if she wanted to vomit up her butterbeer. "Yeah. It sure is something."

Rose frowned. "Are you feeling alright? Usually you already have your plate half-eaten." She lifted a hand to her forehead teasingly, feeling for a temperature. Lily flinched back.

"Er-"

But Rose had already seen it. She lowered her hand slowly, her eyebrows knitting together. "Lily-"

"Are you dating Scorpius?" It came out in a rush, the words tumbling over one another. "Because it's fine if you are. I mean, I don't care. I just think that Al might feel sort of left out, you know? It would be odd having your two best mates go out together, and I'm worried that he's going to be weird about it." She pinched her lips together, refusing to let any more words escape. Rose's eyebrows had shot into her hairline.

"You want to know if Scorpius and I are together?" she asked. Lily felt color flood her cheeks. She scratched at her neck uncomfortably.

"Well, for Al's sake, yeah."

"Lily." Rose looked at her firmly. "Scorpius and I are not dating. We never have dated, and we never will date. Are we clear?" Lily felt the heat in her face intensify.

"Oh. Alright, we're clear."

Rose smiled. "Good. And just for the record," she said, clapping Lily on the shoulder as she passed, "my hair's not the right shade of red for him."

And she tugged on a lock of Lily's.

o.O.o

The next couple weeks passed without much incident, though Lily could feel the tension in the house beginning to grow thicker. Quidditch teams began to be picked with more squabble, and every morning someone was banging on the bathroom loud enough to wake the entire Burrow. An entire war had been raged over who got the last piece of toast at breakfast. Tempers were rising high and fast, and with twenty-six people living under one roof, Lily figured someone was bound to explode. And the upcoming New Year had only made things worse.

"I _hate _New Year's Eve," Roxanne complained bitterly, ripping down pieces of tinsel. She paused in her work to glower down from the stool to the growing pile at her feet. "You spend the entire day taking down Christmas decorations, and all it's good for in the end is drinking and snogging." Lily offered her cousin a small smile from her own stool. She reached up and tugged viciously at a silvery strand.

"Don't forget about resolutions," she reminded her. "You also get to believe that you'll be a better person for a couple days." Across the room, Lucy looked up from where she had been packing boxes.

"You mean you don't keep your resolutions?" She looked shocked by this information, as if Lily had suggested that she was going to do away with an Unbreakable Vow. Roxanne smirked.

"It depends on what it is." She yanked at another strand, bringing it crashing down. "Eat more chocolate? Certainly. Ace my OWL's? Not so much."

"Yeah, but you weren't going to pass those regardless," Hugo said, shooting a piece of tinsel at her head. Roxanne scowled.

"You are this close, Hugo." She pinched her thumb and index finger together. "_This _close." Hugo gave her a big smile, shooting another one at her shoulder.

"It's not like you can use a wand, Roxie."

A hint of malice flashed in her cousin's eyes. "That doesn't mean I can't use my fists."

"Woah!" Lily hopped down from her chair, sensing the unresolved tension bubbling beneath her cousins' skins. She planted herself in the middle of the sea of tinsel to look at them both sternly. "Let's take the anger out on the tinsel, alright?" There was a breathtaking moment as she waited to see if they would retaliate. But both merely shrugged, continuing with their work.

"Uncle Charlie is so lucky," Roxanne continued, carrying on as if nothing had happened. She dislodged two strands of silver with one hard tug. "He's automatically exempt from these things. Otherwise, he can set a dragon on you."

"Techinically, I could set _you_ on them," Hugo said, but he said it so that only Lily could hear. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. Lucy shook her head.

"Grandma Molly's making him come home for a few days after we leave," she explained, taping the side of one of the dozens of cardboard boxes. "She says she wants to give him his Christmas present."

"Merlin, don't people _owl_ anymore?" Roxanne demanded, turning to look at them all incredulously. A piece of silver tinsel dangled comically from her fingers. "Why is it that people feel the need to speak to each other face-to-face all the time? They have something for that. It's called the _floo network_." She shook her head in disbelief, muttering profanity as she turned back to her work. Behind her, Hugo pulled a face.

"I think she's worried about him," Lily said, trying desperately to ignore Hugo. "With everything that's going on, she probably just wants to make sure he's alright."

"I hope he rides in on a fire-breathing dragon," Albus said hopefully, striding into the kitchen to snag the chair by the table. "Or a hippogriff. Dad did that when he was younger."

"Not for sport, you prat," Rose said, falling into the seat beside him. "My mum rode his hippogriff too, and she said they almost died trying to steer it."

"That sounds dirty, doesn't it?" Scorpius stepped lightly over the tinsel, claiming the last chair around the table. "She rode his hippogriff." Rose cringed.

"Please don't ruin the word hippogriff for me, Scorpius." The blonde grinned.

"Or dragon," he said, getting warmed up. "That sounds dirty as well. She rode my dragon-"

"Are you three done already?" Hugo demanded, craning his neck to see the boxes piled up in the hallway. "Blimey, there must have been thirty boxes to pack! Did you have a team of house elves working for you?" He looked as if that actually might be a plausible explanation. Rose gave her brother a despairing look.

"Hugo, how old am I?"

Hugo frowned. "Seventeen. I'm not stupid, Rose." His sister lifted an eyebrow.

"Then you can explain to me what I'm allowed to do at seventeen."

"Well, you can apparate," Hugo said obviously. "You can also legally get married, and use magic- oh." His gaze fell to where their wands rested in their pockets. "You used your wands."

Scorpius smirked. "Wands! Also another dirty-"

"Don't," Rose said, holding up a hand. "I swear to you, Scorpius, if I have to picture your more _sensitive_ areas every time that I pick up a wand, I will kill you."

"Speaking of wands," Lily said hopefully, pausing from where she had been tearing away a strand. "I don't suppose you lot want to use your's to help us?"

Scorpius reclined in his seat. "Not really, no."

Lily's gaze was stony. "I wasn't really giving you an option."

"And I wasn't really considering an alternative answer." He picked up a discarded piece of tinsel, charming it into a rubber band before shooting it at Lily. She scowled, stooping to pick it up.

"Bad idea, Malfoy." She drew it back, shooting him straight in the face. His expression was one of comic surprise, and she couldn't hide a smile. "I'm a Chaser. My accuracy is uncanny."

"That's my girl!" Hugo called from down the hallway, his head poking out from a pile of boxes. Lily blew him a kiss.

"Where did everyone else go?" Rose asked, peering around as if realizing for the first time that the house was empty. "It's so... quiet." Albus shrugged.

"Back to their respective houses, I guess. Fred and James went pub-crawling before the big party tonight," he said wistfully. "Wish they'd let me go along." Lily snorted.

"At three in the afternoon? Classy."

They all paused as the distant sounds of shouting drifted in from outside, two voices rising steadily to be heard over one another. One was distinctly male, while the other sounded female. Lucy sighed.

"It's Molly and Louis," she said by way of explanation, noting their confused faces. "They had some sort of row last night. They've been at it since Christmas."

"Do you know what they're fighting about?" Lily asked, straining to make out words. Lucy shrugged.

"It's mostly non-sensical, really. I think Molly was upset that Louis brought a date to the Christmas party because it was a family event. At least, that's what I figure. They're fighting about that blonde witch, anyways." She bit her lip. "I do hope they're both alright."

The shouting faded, replaced by a sharp CRACK as someone apparated away. There was a pause before a second sharp sound split the air, signifying the other's departure. Lucy sighed.

"That's my cue." She walked over to the floo, grabbing a fistful of chalky powder. "I'll see you all tonight; tell Grandma Molly to take it easy on the cooking." There was a blaze of green embers and then she was gone, leaving only smoke in her wake. Rose stood as well.

"Mum wanted us to pack before tonight, Hugo," she said, directing her words toward her brother's buried form in the hallway. "It should only take an hour or so."

"For you, maybe." His head popped up from behind the mountain of cardboard. "I haven't got a wand to do all the work for me."

Rose sighed testily. "How unfortunate for you. Now, are you coming or not?" She held out a hand, tapping her foot impatiently. Hugo shrugged.

"I'll see you later, Lilsy; Rox." He nodded at the other two before taking his sister's hand, whirling away into nothingness. Roxanne brushed off the leg of her trouser as she too, stood. Her smile at Lily was almost apologetic as she made her way to the floo.

"I better make sure Fred finds his way home alright." She grabbed a fistful of powder, inclining her head at both Al and Lily. She managed a grimace in Scorpius's direction. "I'll see... _all_ of you tonight." She threw the powder down and was immediately engulfed in green flames, disappearing in a cough of smoke. Lily blinked to clear her vision.

Which was when she realized that it was only her, Al, and Scorpius left in the house.

"Oh, joy," she muttered.

o.O.o

As it turned out, the house was almost empty for New Year's.

"I cannot believe this." Lily shook her head for what felt like the thousandth time this evening, fiddling with the radio knobs. "I just... can't believe this." She frowned, listening for a moment before switching the channel. Scorpius looked up from where he sat with his head in his hands. He pushed her wrist irritably.

"Would you stop it, Potter? The news is the same on every channel, you know. It doesn't change." Lily shot him an exasperated look.

"I _know_ that, Malfoy, I'm not an idiot-"

"Would you both quit it?" Albus glared at them through red-eyes. He rubbed at his face tiredly. "Merlin, it's like having..." He paused for a moment. "No, it's just like having you two trapped in a house together. There's really no better comparison." Scorpius pulled a face.

"Jeez, Al, you're so eloquent with words-"

"Quiet!" Lily snapped. She held up a hand and leaned forward, holding her breath. The other two fell silent as well. A familiar voice had begun to speak. She scrambled for the volume control, turning it as loud as it could go.

Her father's voice filled the room, making her heart squeeze in her chest. She noticed Al discreetly rub again at his eyes. "I see no reason to panic," he was saying. "There was an attack in the Ministry, yes, but this lockdown is just procedure. Kingsley is not a man of secrecy; if there was any opportunity for worry, the public would be well informed by now."

"But what about the mark we saw above Hogwarts we saw a couple months ago, Harry?" Lily recognized Lavender Brown's voice, a well-known reporter for the Daily Prophet. "Is there any connection to the attack and that night that you can comment on?"

"It's hard for us to tell at this point." She could tell that her father was choosing his words carefully, almost purposely. "But I can confirm that we have all of our Aurors looking into it, as well as the Minister himself."

"Right," Lavender said. She didn't sound convinced. "Can you respond to the allegations that these attacks have been spurred by He Who Must Not Be Named himself?" Beside her, Albus turned to look at Lily in confusion.

"Who is-"

"Shhh." She cut him off with a wave of her hand, leaning closer to hear Harry's response. She could picture him shifting in his chair uncomfortably.

"I haven't heard any reports on the subject before."

Lavender made a noise of disbelief. "You can't be serious? Rumors have been speculated upon since October."

"Really?" She could practically hear him frowning. "Then I would say that anyone there that night twenty-six years ago should be able to explain to you why exactly that isn't possible. You yourself saw the body if I recall correctly, Lavender."

There was a brief pause as the two seemed to exchange something silently. When Lavender spoke, her voice had lost some of it's earlier enthusiasm. "Thank-you, Harry. One more thing; how long do you expect the lockdown to last for?"

Harry hesitated. "A few hours at the most. I hope to be back to my children by morning."

Lily reached forward to flip the switch on the radio, cutting off the rest of the report. She could feel her heart slamming in her chest. An eerie silent filled the Burrow.

"So." Scorpius reclined in his seat, looping his arms around the back of his head. "No New Years' snog after all, then."

Lily couldn't help herself. "Yes, I suppose you can't floo out now to go and find Moaning Myrtle." Scorpius shrugged.

"She'd be better than kissing either of you," he replied coolly. Al turned an odd shade of green.

"Thanks a lot, mate." He clutched his stomach as if he might hurl. "I can feel supper moving back up. Oh, the imagery!"

Scorpius had a wicked twinkle in his eye. "You would probably be a good kisser, too," he said, warming up, "I mean, _look_ at those lips-"

"Are you saying I'd be a bad kisser?" Lily arched one eyebrow. The oddest rush of anger had filled her, growling in her stomach for vengence. Half of her seemed to think it would be a good idea to prove to him how wrong he was. Scorpius paused.

"No," he said slowly. "I just think you might be..." He hesitated, appearing to choose his words carefully. "Inexperienced."

Lily recoiled as if he had slapped her. "_Inexperienced_?" It came out as nearly a shriek. Albus, who had recovered from his earlier illness, let out a low whistle.

"Scorpius," he said, shaking his head. "If there is one thing you don't say to Lily, it's that she's inexperienced." Scorpius shot Al a look.

"I got that, thanks."

"I'll have you know that I'm an _excellent_ kisser," Lily said heatedly, tossing her hair behind her back. "And just because you happen to have incredibly low standards-"

"_I _have low standards?" Scorpius was smirking. "You filthy hypocrite! What happened to Arius Blackthorne?"

Lily felt heat rise to her cheeks. "I was in third year!"

"Low standards and a bint," he said smugly.

There was a short silence as she glared at him, letting all of her rage fill her until she felt she might explode. Her hands had balled into fists at her sides. Beside her, Al shifted uncomfortably.

"Er, we don't have to stay up for the New Year, you know. We can always just go to bed-"

"No!" Lily sprang to her feet, focusing all of her self-control into turning stiffly toward the stairs. "_I_ will go to bed. You two can stay up and listen for more news reports, so that when the Ministry cancels the lockdown, I can get _the hell away from you_." She tossed her hair one more time before storming up the stairs and into her mum's old bedroom, slamming the door shut. From below, she could hear muted voices talking. Footsteps eventually followed her up the stairs, and there was a sharp rap on the door. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Al, what part of 'stay the hell away from me' did you not understand?"

"It's funny," said a cool voice, "but I understood most of your non-sensical screaming quite clearly."

Lily felt her blood freeze. She sat down on her bed, ignoring the pounding of her heart in her chest. "Scorpius. What a pleasant surprise."

The door swung open, revealing a smirking blonde boy standing in the doorway. He twirled his wand between his fingers. "I'm afraid I can't say the same."

"You're using magic now to break into girl's rooms?" Lily sent a pointed glance to where he tucked his wand away, willing her gaze to burn right through his clothes and into his skin. "That's a new all-time low, even for you."

"So are these new methods of seeking my attention," Scorpius said dryly, throwing himself down onto her bed. "You should really stop storming off all the time."

Maybe it was the sight of him reclining casually on her bed. Maybe it was his words that he threw at her like knives. Whatever the reason, Lily Potter found herself uncontrollably angry, angrier than she had ever been before. And she lost it.

"What is _with _you?" she demanded, her voice raising to a shout. "Do you _try_ to make people miserable? Is it fun for you? Or maybe," she continued, getting warmed up, "it's your _family_. That's why you're really here, isn't it Scorpius? Not because you want to see Al over holidays, or because you want to stay in contact, it's because even your family realized how awful you are and they can't stand the sight of your face anymore."

"But that's not it," she said hysterically, her voice rising. "Oh, no. Now that you've scared off _your_ family, you have to try to replace them with _mine_. So you're trying your best to win Albus and Rose and my mum over, and congratulations, you've succeeded! Because Albus and Rose feel sorry for you, and you remind my mum of my dad with your sad sob story with your parents and now she loves you too, but I _don't_. Don't think for a moment that I don't know exactly what you're trying to do here, Scorpius. And any of your pathetic stories about how your family doesn't love you? Don't waste them on me."

She sucked in a deep breath, her face hot from her outburst. The lion in her chest roared with approval at her words. Scorpius had sat still through her entire speech, though two red spots had appeared on both of his cheekbones.

"Wow," he said slowly. "And here I was beginning to think that Rose might actually be right about you having the empathy of a human being." His words cut into her skin like knives, sharp and cold. Lily narrowed her eyes.

"Only snakes are incapable of feeling."

"Oh, really?" Scorpius was on his feet now, and all in one go, Lily could see how he really felt. The usual mask had given way to a tirade of emotions; fury, hurt, anger. And for once, she found herself truly terrified of Scorpius Malfoy. He advanced on her slowly, his words coming out in a hiss. "My parents _disowned_ me, Lily! They left me with nothing more than the clothes on my back and a stick of wood that can do some tricks. I have nothing, _nothing_ left. And if you think that I took that all in stride, if you think that I continued forward without ever looking back on a decision that I made that drove them to the edge, then you're dumber than I have ever pegged you for."

And with that, he stalked to the door, slamming it behind him.

Lily stared at it numbly, letting the silence fill her for a moment. His words jumped around in her head, making her head pound and her heart ache. She felt her knees give way, and she slid to the floor and set her head in her hands.

o.O.o

_A/N: I understand completely if you all hate me right now and want nothing more than to throw your computer at a wall. But maybe leave me a review instead? You can rant at me all you like. I actually enjoy hearing it!_

_Drop me your favourite line in this chapter if you can, please!_


	13. Apologies, Apologies

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling_

_A/N: Wow! I think I had more reviews on that last chapter than I have ever before. Please keep up the good work, guys!_

o.O.o

"You didn't mean it."

Rose and Lily were sitting side-by-side on her bed, their feet dangling off the edge. The early morning sun flooded through the window, illuminating everything in a cheery light that Lily felt was entirely out of place. She could hear the beginning of a chorus of bangs and thuds from the kitchen below, signalling the start of breakfast.

Lily groaned, lying back on her bed. "That's the problem, though. I did mean it."

"But you didn't _really_-"

"Didn't you hear me the first time, Rose?" she snapped. "I meant it." There was a brief pause as she shifted, shielding her eyes from the light. "Sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I don't think any of us did." Rose lay back as well, turning her head so that they were facing one another. "Hugo and I were up most of the night trying to get ahold of one of you. Mum and Dad were over at your parent's place, so we tried there as well, but no luck. They truly shut off all methods of communication."

There was a note of awe and fear in her voice, a fear so raw that Lily actually shivered. "Were you scared?" she whispered.

"Mostly just for Hugo. And for all of you." Rose's eyes were dark and steady. "But, yes. I was scared."

"I still don't understand," Lily said in frustration. She rolled over onto her stomach, turning so that she was facing her cousin properly. "What was the point of that entire thing? And don't say it's regular procedure," she added, seeing Rose's expression, "because whatever my dad said on the wireless last night was rubbish."

"Not all of it was." Rose bit her lip. "Remember what he said about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? I think that was the wizard, Lily. The one that the horcruxes belonged too."

Lily snorted. "And a fat lot of good that'll do us," she said irritably. "What sort of mass murderer can't even think up a name to go by?"

"Lily!" Rose sounded shocked. "This is serious. Can't you be more..."

"Boring?"

"I was going to say contrite." Rose propped herself up with one elbow, pushing the hair out of her eyes impatiently. "Look, it's not like I'm asking you to change, because I love you the way you are. But I need you to stop flying off the handle! You need to _think_ before you do something. We can't afford another incident like the stunt you pulled to make it into the prophet, alright? Or sooner or later they'll figure out what we're trying to do."

Lily flinched. "That's what Scorpius does."

"_What_?" Rose looked lost. "Lily, did you hear anything I just said?"

"That's what Scorpius does," Lily repeated, almost to herself. "He flies off the handle." A feeling of numbness settled over her. "I'm just like him."

Rose shook her head. "That's not true. Scorpius is possibly the most sarcastic person I know, but he doesn't act on a whim-"

"The first quidditch match," Lily said, firing up. "He stepped off of a tower, with no broom. After the match, he hit Talc across the face. Yesterday-"

"You honestly think he didn't plan those things?" Rose actually laughed. "Scorpius is methodical, Lily. And he knows how to make an entrance."

"But he hit Talc," Lily said stubbornly. Rose nodded, making her red curls bounce around her face.

"Exactly my point! He hit him, Lily. He didn't use a wand, like most wizards would have. He physically hit him. It wasn't a reflex."

Lily stared hard at her bitten nails in frustration. "But-"

"You're not like him." Rose looked extremely smug. "No matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise." To her horror, Lily felt tears spring to her eyes.

"Don't you see that makes it _worse_?" she demanded heatedly, jabbing a finger at her cousin. "If I was like him, at least I could use the fact that I was emotionally damaged, or- or raised in a dysfunctional household! Where's my excuse, Rose? I have no reason as to why I yelled at him last night, other than the fact that he drives me up the _wall_."

Her cousin recoiled in surprise. "You never said-"

"I never said what?" Lily glared at her through blood-shot eyes. "That I wasn't worried about being like him, so much that I was worried that I wasn't? I'm a monster, Rose, and I can't even justify it."

"Oh, that's it." Rose sat up straight, and without a moment's pause, gripped Lily's shoulders tightly. "Listen to me, Lily. You're _not _a monster. You're just a girl, who like everybody else, gets angry sometimes. The real problem is that you think that Scorpius is a monster, too. But believe me, the fact that he can get up and dress himself in the morning without worrying that someone is going to stab him is a bloody miracle after the household he was raised in." She shook Lily a little for emphasis. "So stop it, right now. Because you're making me sick with worry, and you're making yourself miserable."

Lily was too shocked to do much more than slump against the wall as Rose released her, breathing hard. It was a little like being shaken by Lucy; too inconceivable to be real. "Oh," was all she said.

Rose hesitated. "You two are alike sometimes. I have to shake Scorpius as well to make him see that he's not a monster, too."

"He thinks he's a monster?" Lily asked in surprise. The idea of someone like Scorpius, so proud and certain, struggling with the idea of who he was seemed like an impossibility to her. Rose sighed.

"Of course he does, Lily. He was raised by two people who hated the idea of loving anything but money and power. It only makes sense that he would turn out the same way."

"But he didn't." Lily was shocked to hear the conviction in her own voice. "He's not like that at all. He cares about you and Al more than anybody else."

"Yeah, well, you didn't tell him that last night, did you?" There was a touch of bitterness in her cousin's voice. Lily considered for the first time what this must be like for Rose; here she was, complaining about someone who had become like a brother to Rose, and expecting her cousin to sit down and sympathize with her. A squirm of guilt went through her.

"Rose, listen-"

"It's fine." Rose gave her a tired smile. "I'm used to it. I just want you to understand that when Scorpius pushes someone away, he thinks he's doing it for their own good."

Lily felt her forehead crinkle. "He doesn't push you and Al away."

"He tries." Rose shrugs. "The difference is that we don't let him." Lily swallowed.

"Sometimes I wonder if he truly does hate me." She scratched at her shoulder self-consciously, lowering her eyes. "I mean, not that it matters, really. But sometimes I wonder."

"Lily." Rose's voice was surprisingly gentle. "When Scorpius loves someone, he'll do anything to protect them. Even if he'll never admit it, he does care about you."

Lily let out something like a laugh. "It's funny," she mused. "Half the time I hate him, and the rest of the time I absolutely want to kill him. But I can never seem to give up on him." She felt exposed, turned inside out, vulnerable as she spoke. She crossed her arms. "Is that normal?"

It was Rose's turn to laugh. "I don't think anything is normal when it comes to Scorpius."

o.O.o

Breakfast was, as Lily had guessed, exceedingly awkward.

Hardly anyone spoke, and the only noise was the occasional request for the butter to be passed, or to comment on the good weather again. Fred tried to suggest a snowball fight twice, but was met with only a ringing silence. Lily found that she couldn't look at nearly anyone at the table. None of the adults, who refused to speak of the lockdown that had happened the previous night. None of her cousins, who were shooting her worried looks. And certainly not Scorpius.

"So." James spoke up bravely, venturing through the silent storm. "What did everyone do for New Years?"

There was a pause as a collective flinch seemed to go round the table. James had obviously meant the question in all honesty, as he and Fred were drinking for most of the evening, but everyone else appeared to have spent the night alternating between worrying and listening for news.

"Baking." Molly spoke up, and Lily noted that their was a pink flush around her cousin's ears. "I wasn't doing anything, really. Just baking. Nothing else."

Louis shot her an amused look. He cleared his throat before addressing the table. "I was baking too."

"But not with me!" It came out as an alarmed squeak. Molly shook her head quickly. "I mean to say that I was baking, and so was Louis, but not together. He was at his flat, and I was at mine. So we weren't baking together, obviously."

The silence at the table seemed to swallow her words. Louis and Molly were exchanging something silently, shooting one another pointed looks. Ginny coughed delicately.

"James, dear, I was actually hoping you might come and spend a few days at home." She said it casually, but Lily could tell it wasn't a suggestion so much as a command. "Your father and I can make up your old bedroom. It would be nice for us to spend some time with you." She gazed entreatingly at him.

James looked uncertainly at his mother. "You're always complaining that I track mud through the house when I come to visit, and now you want me to stay for a week? Are you feeling alright, mum?"

Ginny shifted uncomfortably. "Is it so odd that your dad and I miss you?"

Albus and James exchanged a look. "Yes," they said in unison. Ginny sighed.

"You know what? We should all just go on vacation. Albus and Lily, you've been overworked as it is, and some time off might be best for the both of you. Isn't that right, dear?" She shot Harry a look as if to say that he disagreed with her, they were going anyway. Albus, however, was staring agape at his mother in horror.

"Mum, I have NEWT's this year! We can't just take off-"

"And I have a _social _life," Lily interrupted her brother. She shook her head. "How do you expect Hugo to manage the quidditch team without me?"

"It's true." Hugo inclined his head. "She's the best we have, Aunt Ginny."

Ginny gave what sounded like an annoyed huff. "I don't care if Merlin is taking a field trip to your school, Lily. We don't do nearly enough as a family-"

"Rubbish!" Lily stared at her mother in disbelief. "That is complete and utter rubbish. I have never spent the holidays at school - not _once_, and all summer Al and I sit around home because you're terrified that the press is going to kidnap us! We do everything with our family, mum. Some days I'm amazed you even let us go to the loo alone."

"That's not fair." Ginny looked stricken, as if Lily had physically hit her across the face. "Your father and I try very hard to let you kids grow up normally, away from the press-"

"Obviously not hard enough."

"Then what more can we do for you?" Ginny demanded.

"Oh, I don't know. Some trust would be nice."

"We do trust you, Lily! It's just with the prophet always following you-".

"And why is that?" Everyone's heads swivelled back and forth between herself and her mother, watching the heated exchange like a particularly interesting tennis match. "Why do I have reporters follow me, mum? Because frankly, I've never done a damn thing to warrant making front-page news for going into a pub."

Albus made as if to stand up. "Lily-"

"Shut up, Albus," she snapped. Her eyes never left her mother as she spoke. "Do you think that we don't notice the way that people rush to help you when we're in a shop? Or the way that they wave like you're an old friend? How dumb do you think we are?"

There was a grim sort of satisfaction in seeing the shocked look on her mother's face. Lily was ready for a second wind when she felt a hand grip firmly onto her shoulder, squeezing so hard that it hurt. She turned to find Rose looking at her steadily.

"Lily," she said, "go take a walk." The blues in her eyes were a melting pot of pity and sadness. And maybe, if she looked close enough, disappointment as well. Her cousin's earlier words bounced around in her head, painfully sharp. _I need you to stop flying off the handle. You need to _think. Lily jerked back from Rose's hand, checking herself.

"I-" It took her a moment to realize that everyone at the table was staring at her with a mixture of disbelief and hurt. She felt her face burn. "Right."

Without another word, she turned on her heel. She threw the door open in one motion and all but ran into the garden, ignoring the way that the long grass tore at her bare skin. _Stupid_, she thought grimly. _That's what I am. I not only just about blew everything in about two seconds, but I also almost reduced my mother to tears. Way to go, Lily_. _You've officially proved that you're a heartless git._

She sat abruptly in the middle of their make-shift quidditch pitch, staring up at the tall hoops that stretched toward the sky. It wasn't that she was angry with her mother. In fact, quite honestly, Lily loved her mother more than Albus and James did when it came down to it. Maybe it was because they looked alike, or maybe it was that her mother had been similar to her when she was younger; whatever the reason, Lily had always had a sort of unusual friendship with her mum that none of the boys understood.

And now she had just destroyed it. Or maybe, more to the point, they had both destroyed it by not trusting one another. Although, Lily thought bitterly, her mother had never really trusted her, so perhaps their entire relationship had been built on lies regardless.

"Merlin, Potter." She jumped, whirling around to find Scorpius smirking at her. He was playing lazily with what appeared to be a forgotten snitch. "I've seen Moaning Myrtle look happier."

"You're slipping, Malfoy," she said dully. Lily lay back in the grass, staring up at the sky. "You've come after me twice in two days. Any more and people might begin to think that you care."

"I'll be sure to work on that." He caught the snitch with his left hand, pocketing it. He quirked an eyebrow. "So. Not so easy being me, is it?" Lily frowned.

"No," she said. "Not so much fun, either. You make it look a lot more thrilling than it turns out to be." Scorpius shrugged modestly.

"I can't help it. The cutting comments stem naturally from me."

Lily sighed. He wouldn't look at her, but she could feel it when he lay down beside her, his cool breath stirring the hair near her forehead. She shivered almost reflexively.

"I'm sorry." She bit her lip, gauging his expression. "For what I said, I'm sorry." And she was. More than anything, she wished she could take it back. If Aunt Hermione still had her time turner, she would have taken it in a heartbeat.

Now he did look at her. "You're sorry."

"You don't have to forgive me," she said quickly. "I just wanted you to hear it. That I was... sorry." She tried the word out, tasting it. And to her surprise, he laughed.

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that you were sorry," he said wryly. "It's sort of flattering, actually."

"Yeah, well, don't expect it to happen again," she said, but there was no force behind her words. She could feel his heat radiating from his shoulder into her bones, warming her inside out. She cleared her throat. "Have you ever said that you were sorry?"

His blue eyes were unreadable. He was studying her face, as if he could read it like a book. "Only if I really meant it." He shifted, and her eyes traced the strong curve of his neck where his shirt had slipped. He was pale, almost as pale as his hair, but it was the sort of pale that reminded you of angels and white snow. She yanked her gaze back forcefully.

"Well, then what would you do if you were me?" She kept her eyes focused on the sky, making shapes out of the clouds. "Would you say sorry to your family?"

She could practically feel him flinch. "Your family is very different from mine," he said blackly.

"Oh." Lily could have kicked herself. Had she not just been rubbing that very thing in his face mere hours ago? "Er-"

"Don't say anything," Scorpius said tiredly. "I don't want your pity. They're a nightmare, I get it." His tone held resentment, though there was a note of sadness that he probably hadn't intended on including.

Lily fidgeted with a blade of grass. "Well," she said carefully, "Al considers you family, and that's good enough for me. So what would you do?"

A flicker of surprise ran across his face. He cleared his throat. "It depends. Do they really follow you to the loo?"

Lily surprised herself by laughing. "Only James," she said bemusedly. "And usually he's complaining about how his girlfriend has left him again."

"Then I'd apologize." The sunlight played off of his lashes, making his eyes look especially blue. "And I'd grovel, and plead, and then bake them all pumpkin pasties and cauldron cakes for good measure."

"You just want cauldron cakes," Lily said suspiciously. Scorpius grinned crookedly.

"Guilty."

They both sat up slowly, looking at the lopsided house in front of them. The top of it had begun to sag over the years as more rooms had been added hastily on top, creating the appearance of a birthday cake falling over. There were chickens all over the yard, and gnomes prowled the yard like hungry little beasts. But it was home, Lily thought fondly. More like home than even her cosy house with her immediate family.

"You know what? Sod it." Scorpius shook his head, as if he couldn't believe he was actually saying this. "Rose would apologize."

"I'm not Rose."

There was an odd light in his eyes as he looked at her. "I know," he said. "Of course you're not Rose. That's why you shouldn't."

"Apologize?" Lily sat up straighter, brushing her hair out of her eyes so she could look at him properly. "You think I _shouldn't_ apologize?"

He shrugged. "Apologizing is what Rose would do."

"You change your mind an awful lot. You know that, right?" She crossed her arms, glaring at him from beneath her red curls. His smile widened.

"A wizard once said to change the world, we must first change ourselves," he said wisely.

"And now you're just being cryptic to annoy me." She slumped back down again, tugging forcefully at her curls. His hand shot out to catch her wrist as if it was automatic.

"Don't." He looked almost as surprised by his own actions as she was. "I like your hair." Lily stared at him for a moment.

"You told me it looked like my head was on fire."

"I didn't say _that_." Scorpius sounded almost annoyed, as if she had suggested something insulting. "I told you that your hair looked like fire. And it does." There was a brief pause. Lily glanced down at his hand, where his fingers encircled her wrist.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I like my hair too. It reminds me of my mum, actually." She could feel her own steady pulse beating beneath his fingers. His grip loosened, but he didn't release her wrist.

"Because she has the same hair," he said pointedly. "That's partially why you can relate to her. Because you two are similar."

"I used to think we were." She found she couldn't meet his eyes, and she focused instead on his even breathing. "But I wouldn't just lie, Scorpius. Not to everyone I cared about, everyone I _loved_- Oh."

Lily cut off when she finally met his eyes. It was as if he was looking through her, showing her things that she wasn't sure she wanted to see. She remembered the way Hugo had looked after she had told him about the horcruxes, the look of complete distrust and disappointment on his face.

It was exactly how she had felt looking at her mother.

"Not so different after all, are you?" Scorpius prodded. He released her wrist, but held her gaze steadily. "So tell me, Potter, would you want an apology?"

Lily hesitated. "No," she said slowly. "I wouldn't believe them. I don't use words like Rose does, exactly. I like things concrete. Actions."

"That's what I thought." He looked almost smug as he stood up, brushing the dirt off of his trousers. "It appears I know you better than you think."

And he left her sitting in the middle of the quidditch pitch, staring up at the hoop that still stretched toward the sky.

o.O.o

_A/N: Review, please? I would love to hear your favourite parts, as well as what you think is going to happen. A couple people have been really close, but no one's got it yet!_

_Also, would anyone check out a Tumblr for this story? I don't want to come off as presumptuous, but it would be nice to have somewhere to include more visual-aspects, and to answer the Anonymous questions. Plus, I could include more facts and updates on the progress of it all (because, believe me, it's going to be a long one). Let me know!_


	14. Ride My Broom

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!_

_A/N: Yes, I know. You probably all think that I've had some sort of crazy personality swap because I'm updating so fast, but this will be it for a week! I'm away for a while, so I can actually promise that. In the mean time, please enjoy!_

o.O.o

The train ride back was a welcome escape for Lily.

She rested her head on the cool glass, letting the icy shock spread through her veins and into her blood. It had been a difficult week to spend with her family, and while most of her cousins had understood her angry outburst, the older generation of her family had not. She had been ambushed everywhere by worried aunts and uncles over the course of her holiday, following her everywhere from brushing her teeth to feeding the chickens. Lily supposed it would have been flattering in a way, if it hadn't been so irritating.

"Lilsy?" Hugo waved a large hand in front of her face, snapping his fingers to get her attention. "Are you listening to what I'm saying right now?"

"Mmm," Lily said nonchalantly. She watched as her breath made foggy pictures on the glass window. One bore an odd resemblance to a scorpion. Hugo snorted.

"Right." He shifted restlessly. "So you have no comment on the fact that Annie, my _chaser_, likes Lorcan sodding Scavenger, who just happens to be our beater?"

"Oh, how sweet," she offered, closing her eyes. Hugo made a choking sound.

"It's not _sweet_." He sounded appalled. "That's my team! You agree that there should be no inter-team dating, right?"

"Right," Lily echoed. His voice sounded far away now, as if he was on the other end of a tunnel. She could hear his annoyed huff distantly.

"I'm also planning on running away with a boggart. What do you think of that?"

"Spiffing," Lily replied sleepily. Hugo made a sound of frustration.

"Lily-"

"Oh, let her alone, Hugo," Lucy admonished him. She gestured vaguely in Lily's direction. "Can't you see she's exhausted? She hasn't gotten any sleep in weeks now."

Hugo looked mollified. "But-"

"Quiet, Hugo." Roxanne looked up from the Quibbler to smirk at her cousin. "Just because you want in Annie's pants-"

"_I do not want in Annie's pants!_" Hugo cried, leaping up from his seat. Lily sat upright at this, turning to look at her cousin. His face was flushed a brilliant red that matched the highlights in his hair. Roxanne appeared to have noticed this as well, and her smirk widened.

"The delicate reds of your face don't lie, Weasley."

Hugo, if possible, flushed even further. But, "It doesn't work when you call me Weasley, Rox," was all he said.

Lily cleared her throat. "Well, I don't think she likes Lorcan," she said, purposefully avoiding looking at Hugo. "I think she likes someone else on the team." As she had guessed it might, her admission sparked some interest. Lucy leaned forward curiously, and even Roxanne set down her Quibbler.

"Who?" the dark haired girl demanded. "Is it that one fourth-year bloke on the team? Castor?" Hugo looked as if he might be sick. Lily shook her head.

"Nope," she said mysteriously. "Not Castor."

"Zeek, then?" Lucy asked, a curious light entering her eyes. Lily could immediately tell that her cousin had caught on. "Does Annie like Zeek?"

"No. Not Zeek either," Lily said. Lucy sat back in a self-satisfied manner, with the air of someone who had solved a puzzle. Hugo cringed.

"It's Lysander, isn't it?" He shook his head dejectedly. "I cannot believe that she thinks that Lysander, a complete and utter git, would be-"

"It's not Lysander!" Lily interrupted. She caught Lucy fighting a smile. "And it's not Lorcan, either." Hugo frowned.

"That's all the guys on the team! And unless she's begun to fancy witches..." He looked as if his head might explode with the effort to decipher what Lily was talking about. She covered a smile with her hand.

"I cannot believe you're this thick," she said amusedly. "Actually, yes I can. You have Uncle Ron in you." Lucy sighed, jumping to her feet.

"I'm off to find the snack cart," she announced. "And yes, Rox, before you ask, I'll get you the licorice wands." Roxanne, who had sat forward abruptly, relaxed again sheepishly. Lucy grinned. "And Lily... tell me if he figures it out."

"Figures _what_ out?" Hugo demanded, shouting as she shut the door behind her. "Lucy!" He swore loudly as she disappeared down the hall, her odd grey eyes bright with amusement. There was a short pause. Then, "She's way too young," he grumbled. "They'll just take advantage of her."

"Lucy?" Roxanne raised her eyebrows. "I don't know. She comes off pretty innocent, but she's got a mean right hook-"

"Not Lucy!" Hugo looked anguished. "_Annie_."

"Are we honestly still talking about this?" Roxanne threw the Quibbler irritably at Hugo's head. "She's a pretty girl, you prat! If you haven't got the guts to ask her out, someone else will."

"Are you trying to make a point here, Rox?" Hugo waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I'm available most Tuesdays." Lily was suddenly grateful that Roxanne had nothing left to throw. Her cousin looked mad enough to spit nails.

"What's new in here?" Albus asked.

Lily felt a flood of relief as a distraction arrived in the form of her brother and Scorpius. They slid into the compartment, throwing themselves down as if it had been their compartment in the first place. It was a Slytherin mannerism, Lily supposed, but one that she had grown steadily used to.

"Hugo's being an idiot," Roxanne announced. "He's a thick-headed, bumbling, oblivious idiot." Scorpius smirked, twirling what appeared to be a chocolate frog card on his finger.

"Like we said, what's new in here?" He moved effortlessly to avoid the well-placed Quibbler from Hugo this time. Her cousin had a black expression.

"Git," he muttered. Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"What's got you worked up, Weasley?" he asked curiously. "You look even more surly and brooding than usual." Hugo opened his mouth, looking ready to retaliate with a string of profanity, when the door opened again. Lily glanced up, expecting to see Rose, and was shocked at the person standing in the doorjamb.

"Hullo." Talc shoved his hands in his pockets, shifting uncomfortably. "How's it going?" A shocked silence had fallen, thick and heavy. Talc winced minutely. "Er, I just wanted to talk to Lily, but I can see it's crowded in here-"

"No!" Lily was surprised to hear her own voice, loud and piercing. She coughed, blushing at her own outburst. "I mean, it's fine. Sit down. Er, if you want, that is. You should sit down if you want." She could feel her own face burning, turning the same shade as her hair. Hugo was looking at her as if she had grown another head.

"Sure." Talc took the seat across from her, politely settling in. His odd gold eyes searched her face. "I wasn't going to stop by-"

"I'm glad you did," Lily interrupted hurriedly, attempting to rectify her earlier rudeness. Talc's eyebrows shot into his hair, and he continued with a note of amusement.

"-but I wanted to see how you were feeling."

It took Lily a moment to remember that she had been injured the last time he had seen her. "Oh!" She shifted awkwardly. "I'm good. It was just a scratch, really."

"Don't be stupid." Scorpius's voice was cold, as was his gaze when he looked at Talc, though he was speaking to Lily. "You were sick for close to a week."

She felt her forehead crease. "Well, I'm fine now." She offered Talc a small smile. "I heard that you kicked Slate off of the team."

Talc shrugged sheepishly. "He wasn't worth keeping, anyways," he said modestly. Now Lily really did smile.

"His aim says differently." She gestured to where the bludger had struck, just above the base of her neck. "Precisely where he had intended." Her tone was light, but Talc's golden eyes changed to a dark amber color.

"Did Rose tell you what I told her?" he asked softly. "About the mark?"

Lily swallowed. She suddenly felt as if her throat had been stuffed full of cotton, choking her. She coughed to try to clear it. "I-"

"Yes, she did," Scorpius interrupted smoothly. "How nice of you to mention _after _the game that half of your team are cold-blooded killers. It really adds a nice sentiment to the whole Slytherin-stereotype thing." Talc's eyes narrowed.

"Would you count yourself as part of that team, Malfoy? Because you make it sound as if this entire thing is my fault."

"And lo behold, pigs can fly!" Scorpius made an exaggerated clapping sound. "Congratulations, Captain. You've finally got it through your head what I've been trying to tell you all along." Talc looked ready to leap across the compartment and strangle his seeker to death. Lily shot an urgent look at Al, who immediately stood up.

"I think we're arriving soon," he announced. "We should go change into our robes before we reach the castle. Scorpius?" He lay a hand on his friend's shoulder, who was still staring at Talc as if deciding how exactly best to kill him. "That's you, mate."

"Alright." Scorpius stood up, never taking his eyes off of his housemate. "As long as Talc here comes along."

"Done." Talc rose jerkily as well, nodding stiffly to the other two, and then to Lily. "I'll see you all around." He allowed himself to be shepherded out by Al, who looked desperate to restore peace between his teammates. The door shut behind them with a thud.

Hugo let out a low whistle. "And I thought my love life sucked," he said. Lily shot him a nasty look, but didn't bother to correct him.

o.O.o

"What do you mean you're not coming to quidditch practice?" Hugo was looking at her incredulously, as if she had suggested that she fancied visiting Azkaban for a pleasant stroll. "Lily, you have to come. You can't just miss quidditch practice."

"Hugo..." Lily glanced about nervously. Hugo had developed a louder voice over the years, resulting from being both the Captain of the team and one of the youngest of their many cousins. Even now, his voice carried from the alcove before the Great Hall doors and into the surrounding corridors. She felt her face flush with embarrassment as a few students slowed down to goggle at their exchange. "I told you, I'm not going."

"What do you mean you're _not going_?" Hugo demanded. His tone was tinged with panic. "We play Hufflepuff in a week! When I told you there was a practice, Lily, I wasn't offering you a choice."

She crossed her arms haughtily over her chest. "And I wasn't really giving you more than one answer."

"Because that answer should have been a _yes_!" Hugo threw his hands up, causing a passing pack of second-years to squeal and scatter. "Honestly, it's like I don't even know you anymore."

Lily flinched. "That's not true," she said, stung. Hugo pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes," he said quietly, "it is."

"Hugo-"

"Quit it, Lily!" When he met her gaze, his own eyes were smoldering with anger. Lily flinched back automatically, but he seemed not to notice or care. "Unless you've forgotten, I'm the bloody captain of this team, and unless you don't want to be a part of it, you're going to practice." His voice held a grim sort of satisfaction, as if he had wanted to say those words for a while. Lily felt a flash of anger go through her.

"You would just kick me off the team?" she asked hotly. "Just like that?"

Hugo appeared to be mentally counting to ten. "It's not that I want to-"

"Really? Because that's what it looks like." Lily met his eyes with a steely resolve she had not realized that she had in her when it came to Hugo. Bracing herself, she kept her words blunt. "Look, Hugo. I know that I haven't been coming to practices lately, but I told you I would be ready for this game, and I mean it. But right now, we're standing in a corridor screaming at one another, and the truth is that if you make me come to this practice, you won't have to kick me off the team, because I'll be leaving anyway."

His eyes widened. "I-"

"No." She held her hand up, indicating that he should let her finish. "I love quidditch and I love you, but right now I'm injured and I'm not flying. End of discussion."

"But you're not injured!" Hugo gestured to her head, and Lily automatically brought a hand up, brushing the spot where the bludger had hit. "I don't understand; you were fine over the holiday, and all of a sudden you act like I'm forcing you to kill a pygmy puff! It's not that you're injured. So maybe you're not sleeping well, or something happened with Scorpius-"

"Hugo, shut up!" Lily felt something sharp sting at the back of her eyes, making everything painfully bright. She blinked once, hard. "Just shut up, okay? I'm sick, and I'm tired, and I feel like strangling you right now and then getting Roxanne to finish you off."

There was a pause as they stood facing each other, ignoring the whispers of passing students. Lily blinked rapidly, trying her best to stop the sharp pain in her eyes and her throat. Hugo was gaping at her in shock.

"Are you _crying_?" he demanded, seizing her chin to force her to look at him. "Merlin, Lily, I didn't mean to make you cry-"

"I'm fine." The words came out choked, as if they had been forced out of her throat. She purposefully avoided his bewildered gaze. "I said I'm fine!" she announced loudly, directing her words at a pack of fourth-years, who jumped and hurried away. Hugo frowned.

"Is this about the prophet?" he guessed, grasping for ideas. "Is it about the attention? Because you can't let them get to you-"

"Hugo," Lily said wearily. She found that suddenly she was bone-tired, as if she had been awake for hours on end. Even her bones felt heavy. "Please just go and coach the team." She could see him hesitating, glancing toward the door. The sudden urge to sleep or cry or do both at once overwhelmed her, and she gave him the final push she knew that he would need. "Please, Hugo. For me."

His brown eyes were soft and worried when he looked at her. "Alright. But you have to go and rest, alright?" Lily nodded jerkily, like a puppet. Hugo started toward the door to the grounds, but seemed to hesitate. He turned around to give her a fleeting smile. "And you know that I'd never actually kick you off the team, yeah?"

"I know." Lily did her best to mimic the smiling motion. "You'd lose without me. Now go."

She felt an unexpected pang as he retreated into the distance, calling for his team to assemble. From this distance he could still be a little boy. The same boy who had once cried when Uncle Ron had told him the story of his encounter with a massive spider, or chased gnomes around the garden in his bare feet. The boy who Aunt Hermione had yelled at countless times for soiling the new carpets, or knocking over the rubbish.

"Lily!" She turned to see Albus frowning at her, flagged by both Scorpius and Rose. The latter had her hands full with a plate of buttered toast, and Lily noted that they were all bundled in thick robes and mittens. Rose, too, narrowed her eyes as she saw her.

"Aren't you supposed to be at practice?" she asked suspiciously. "I just ran into Hugo, and he said-"

"I am," Lily interrupted her. She helped herself to a piece of toast, bumping Rose with her shoulder. "But your good-for-nothing brother is making me take the day off. He seems to think I'm going to fall off of my broom and injure myself again."

"Oh." Lily's heart fell; Rose looked more confused than ever. "That's funny. He said that he was excited to get you back up in the air when we spoke to him."

"Guess he changed his mind," she said lightly. Ignoring Scorpius's suspicious eyes, she changed tracks abruptly. "So where are you all off to?"

"We were going to come and watch, actually." Albus grinned, stretching the muscles in his arms. "I haven't been outside in ages. Some fresh air might do me good."

"Rubbish!" Lily surprised herself by laughing genuinely, socking her brother on the shoulder. "You're just watching to spy on our strategy. For being a Slytherin, you aren't being very sneaky and conniving, you know."

"Ah, and she realizes the brilliance of the plan." Scorpius's blue eyes were hard when he looked at her, though his mouth was smiling. "You Gryffs are too cute. Every time a Slytherin comes near you, you seem to assume we have a team of stunners nearby."

"You're being sneaky by being incredibly obvious?" Lily raised her eyebrows. "That sounds more like a Hufflepuff plan."

Scorpius shrugged. "Sometimes you have to defy stereotypes."

"Do you want to come with us?" Rose asked, anxiously hopping up and down on her toes. She bit her lip, peering around Lily and onto the pitch. "I mean, I hate to be rude, but it looks like they're starting-"

"You go on." Lily offered the three of them a small smile, shaking her red curls out of her eyes. "I've got some other stuff I want to take care of anyways."

"Me too, actually." They all turned to look at Scorpius, who was already removing his own black mittens and green cloak. "I'll see you both later."

"You're not coming?" Albus peered closely at Scorpius, as if trying to decide how ill his friend was. "Is there something wrong? Because the last time I checked, you weren't missing this practice '_unless the whole castle burnt down, and then was scattered into the wind until the ashes ended up a troll's-_"

"Alright, alright." Scorpius raised one eyebrow. "No need to quote myself to me." But still he didn't move, planting his feet as if the ground was a recently found stack of galleons. Albus shook his head.

"You're really not coming?" When Scorpius's expression remained unchanged, Lily's brother sighed. "I guess I can't stop you. Have fun doing... whatever you're doing." He shrugged, as if the idea of Scorpius keeping something as mundane as his daily activities a secret was a regular occurrence. Scorpius grinned.

"Watch out for Porella!" he called after their retreating backs. "I hear she's out there too!" Albus made a rude gesture behind his back, which made Scorpius's grin widen. Lily raised one eyebrow.

"Porella?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "Is she watching as well?"

Scorpius shrugged. "No idea."

"But you just said-"

"I know." He smirked as if his words made perfect sense, when really Lily was battling the urge to just drill one into his head. His blue eyes danced. "But Albus doesn't."

Lily squinted, trying to make sense of him. Trying to read something, anything, in his expression. "You don't make any sense. You know that, right?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"More like an observation." She gave up on her analyzation, settling instead for walking briskly toward her dormitory. She was annoyed to find that he matched her step easily. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked.

"Not really," he said brightly.

She sighed. "And I suppose if I asked you why you enjoy following me, you wouldn't give me an answer, would you?"

"If I stared at you in silence, it would come off a little odd, don't you think?" His eyes were amused, and she realized with frustration that he was enjoying this.

"I'll ask then." She stopped, turning to face him. His blue eyes were inches from hers, and she could feel the rise and fall of his chest against hers. "Tell me, Scorpius Malfoy, why are you following me?"

"I want you to ride my broom."

Lily nearly fell over. Only his hands steadied her, as she pitched forward at an alarming rate. "_What?_" she squeaked.

Scorpius smirked. "Oh, dear. That sounded dirty, didn't it?" His hands were warm against her skin, and she found herself blushing. He either didn't notice, or thankfully chose not to comment. "It doesn't have to be my broom, of course. Any broom would work."

"I told you," Lily said, a tinge of panic rising in her voice, "I'm not flying today. I don't want to."

"You don't want to, or you can't?" There was a challenge in his voice, an almost teasing tone. "Because I think that you're scared."

"I am not _scared_!" Lily glared at him, jabbing a finger at his chest. There was a part of her, deep in her bones, that sung with the need to best Scorpius Malfoy, no matter what the cost. "And I can prove it, too."

"Good." He gave her one last infuriating smirk before walking away, calling over his shoulder as he did so. "By the edge of the Forbidden Forest in twenty minutes, Potter! Bring your broom."

"Yes, sir."

The sarcasm was lost underneath the nerves that had begun to settle in. The other part of Lily had begun applauding at her own stupidity.

o.O.o

_A/N: Read and review! I'd love to hear who your favourite character is and why?_


	15. Flying Too High

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!_

_A/N: I'm officially back and writing again! Expect more updates soon. In the mean time, enjoy_

o.O.o

"Alright, Potter." Scorpius nodded at the broomstick that she held gingerly, tucked beneath her right arm. "Show me, then. Go on and smash into some more Slytherins or something."

Lily stared at her own broom. It was odd; the actual shape and make of the broom was as familiar as her own right hand, but she couldn't help but feel as if it was a foreign object. She twirled it in front of her experimentally. Scorpius snorted.

"I said give it a ride, not use it to join the baton club."

"Shut it, will you?" Lily glared at him, shifting irritably from one foot to the other. "I'm getting there." Scorpius, to her surprise, fell silent. She blew out an agitated breath between her teeth, buying time by following the cloud of warm air into the sky. Her broom stared back at her accusingly.

"You know," Scorpius said helpfully, "it helps to mount it before you try to take off."

"Yes, thank-you." Lily gave him a sour look. "I don't know where I'd be without your guidance. And I'm going to mount it in a moment."

Her gaze wandered from the tail of the broom to the handle, memorizing what was already burned into her memory. The Firebolt 3000 was pristine. The wood was flawless and shining, and every bit of the tail was clipped to perfection. Between her parents, James and Al, Lily knew how to take care of a broom. Physically, you couldn't ask for one in much better condition.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake." Scorpius shot her an irritated look. "Are you going to get on the thing or not? We've been standing here for ages-"

"Twenty minutes," Lily said absently.

"-and you've been staring at your broom like it might spring to life and attack you at any moment," Scorpius finished, ignoring her completely. "In case you've forgotten, it's a piece of wood, Lily. The worst it can do is bore you to death."

"Will you shut it?" Lily snapped. "I told you, I'm getting there!"

"No, you're not!" His eyes were glittering with the satisfaction of finally saying the words aloud. Lily couldn't tell if his cheeks were red from cold or anger. "You're not getting there at all, Potter. The truth is that unless I or the broom force you to get onto it, we're going to sit out here and stare at the bloody thing until we both freeze to death. And considering the fact that, as I've pointed out, the broom is a piece of wood, it looks like I'll have to be the one to convince you to get on."

"Are you really that insensitive?" Lily stared at him in a mixture of disbelief and incredulity. She could feel her hands shaking at her sides, and she clenched them into fists. "I fell off of a broom, Malfoy! I nearly _died_, and you think that you can just- that I can just-"

"Say it." His mouth quirked, and there was a challenge in his eyes. "I dare you."

Lily drew a deep breath. She swallowed once, twice. "I'm scared to fly." There. She had said it. His eyes were expressionless when he looked at her.

"Why?"

Lily fought back a wild round of laughter. "_Why_?" She shook her head, red curls flying everywhere. "Scorpius, I'm pretty sure you were hit in the head with one of your sack of galleons when you were younger, because that is the stupidest question I have ever heard."

Scorpius looked at her coolly. "First of all, Malfoy's don't leave sacks of galleons around the house, whatever Al tells you. We use Gringotts, like most normal wizards. Secondly, I think my question is entirely legitimate."

"Maybe if you had troll brains." Lily felt laughter bubble up inside of her until she was giggling helplessly, almost hysterically. "Malfoy, I got hit in the head with a bludger and thrown off of a broom about a hundred feet in the air. It was really nice of you to make sure I didn't die, but I think some post-traumatic stress is actually quite normal."

Scorpius, who had paled when she mentioned his rescue, looked suddenly thoughtful. "No. It's not."

"What?"

"It's not normal," he said, picking up fever as he spoke. "Or not for you, anyways. I've seen you get thrown off of brooms countless times before, take hits way harder than the one that game. Arius Blackthorn threw a bat at you once and knocked out three of your front teeth, and you just sat there smiling at him with blood all over your face."

"Four, actually." Lily held up four fingers. "It was four teeth."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "Are you even listening to me, Potter?" He shook his head, casting his eyes skyward. "Bollocks, I'm awful at giving inspirational speeches. Where's Rose when you need her?"

"I thought you were doing well," Lily threw in helpfully. "Well, until you got to the part where you made me sound like a deranged vampire. But the first bit was quite good."

The blonde boy swung his own broom around impatiently. "I can always trust you to cut right to the heart of the matter, Lily."

They both stood for a moment, unmoving in the frigid air. Lily fidgeted with her scarf absently before giving up and casting it aside, sending the maroon silk floating to the ground. It lay there, blood red against the snow. She swallowed hard. Her broom felt suddenly warm and clammy in her hands.

"Oh, sod it." Scorpius swore under his breath, moving to stand by her. "Look, get on my broom." He shoved the wooden stick in front of her, bumping it into her hip. Alarmed, she scrambled backward automatically. He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lily. Get on the broom."

"No!" She eyed the sleek, black racing broom fearfully, as if it was a dragon that might attack her at any moment. "Just because you have a big, fancy broomstick, Malfoy, does not mean-"

"Bloody hell, you're impossible!" he announced. Appearing to lose patience, he strode to her side, grabbing onto her firmly. His left hand shot around her waist, drawing her into him, while the other hand held onto the broom. She could feel his warmth seeping through both of their cloaks and into her skin. He smelled faintly of spice and aftershave, an unnervingly pleasant combination. Lily reminded herself forcefully to keep her head. "Mount the broom."

"Get off of me!" She pushed at him weakly, but his hands were like iron around her waist. She twisted in his embrace to glare at him. "I'm pretty sure this is illegal."

"Sweetheart, half the things I do are probably illegal." He offered her a smirk, though his grip slackened until he was holding her loosely. His fingers brushed the skin near her hipbone as he shifted. "Now, sit closer to the front so that I can sit in the back."

"What?" Lily turned around so fast that her hair smacked him in the face. She found that she didn't have it in herself to care. "You're getting on with me?"

"Ouch, Potter!" he complained, rubbing at his cheek. "Bloody hell! Yes, I'm getting on with you. You didn't seriously think I was going to let you ride my broom alone, did you?" There was a note of amusement in his voice that she didn't appreciate. She crossed her arms over her chest, turning to face the broom again.

"I'm glad to hear your primary concern was for the broom's safety and not my own." When there was no response, she twisted around again. "Scorpius? What are you- oi!" Seeing that his gaze was fixed on an area that was not a particularly gentleman-like area to be looking, she smacked him across the face again, this time with the heel of her hand. "Focus!"

"Sorry, love." His smirk said anything but. "I'm a seventeen year-old guy; it's in my nature. Where were we?"

"Right at the part where you prove that you're an asshole," she said, not missing a beat. His smirk widened, and he whistled.

"Better be careful, Potter. You're beginning to sound an awful lot like me." Without waiting for her to say another word, he scooped her up with one arm, setting her firmly on the front of the broom. She shrieked, immediately squirming in an attempt to free herself. Scorpius pulled her into his chest. "Honestly, Potter, it's for your own good."

"You are a complete and utter-"

He clapped a hand over her mouth, his eyebrows shooting up in amusement. "Careful. You'll embarrass yourself by swearing like a Gryffindor."

Lily rolled her eyes. Without another word, she opened her mouth wide and bit down hard on his hand. It made a satisfying sort of crunch, and she couldn't help but smile triumphantly. Scorpius let out a surprised shout, pulling his hand away and shaking it wildly.

"What the bloody buggering _hell_?" he demanded, half-shouting as he hopped around. It appeared to be a struggle for him to manage to keep the broom between his knees as well as hold onto Lily and make sure his hand was not within biting distance. "What was that for?"

She smirked in a self-satisfied sort of way. "_That_ was for staring at my chest earlier," she said with relish. He snorted, still waving his hand.

"Then what was the slap for?"

"Everything else," she said simply. To her surprise, he shrugged.

"Yeah, alright. We're even then." Seeing her jaw that had dropped open, he grinned wickedly. "Don't think that I don't know fair when I see it. It's just that as a Slytherin, I don't always _enjoy_ it."

"Care to tell me what else Slytherins see?" Lily tried, attempting to keep any trace of hope from her voice. Scorpius tilted his head lazily, studying her.

"Not bad, Potter. It was a good try as far as you Gryffs go, but I can still spot a half-assed Gryffindor plan when I see one." He grinned. "So no distractions; we're flying."

Lily felt her heart sink. "I don't suppose I could try to threaten you with Albus." Scorpius's cheeks were red with cold when he smirked at her.

"I think I could threaten _you_ with Albus. He'd be on my side for this one." He wrapped his arms more securely around her waist, pulling her flush against him until she could feel the pounding of his heart against her back. "Now, close your eyes."

Which, of course, meant that Lily held them open for as long as possible. A note of suspicion crept into her tone. "Why?"

"Because I'm planning to throw you off when you're not looking." Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Because I don't want you panicking when we're five feet off the ground, Lily! Now close your eyes."

Reluctantly, she did so, surrendering to the warmth that engulfed her. She pressed closer to his chest, squeezing her eyes shut. "Alright. Now what?"

She swore he was smirking. "Leave the rest to me."

Abruptly, she felt her feet leave the ground and she screamed, resisting the urge to open her eyes. Her cold hands clutched for purchase, eventually latching on to his warm ones. She could feel the vibrations when he laughed. "We're only five feet off the ground, Lily."

"Oh." Her voice was tiny. "Can I open my eyes yet?"

"I'll tell you when. Now just stay put for a moment."

She nodded. Lily could feel the wind whipping through her hair as they moved, tearing at her skin. The sting of it was oddly comforting, like an old friend she hadn't realized she missed. She tilted her head backward, leaning the top of it against his shoulder. She had the sudden urge to throw her arms out, but resisted. No matter how solid Scorpius's arms felt, he was human, and the ground was hard from any height.

Plus, she was fairly certain she hated Scorpius. Or something like that.

She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating on the feel of the winter wind soothing her nerves. Her lips felt numb when she moved them. "Scorpius?"

"Mmm?"

"Why did you catch me? I mean, that day that I fell. Why did you catch me?" She held her breath. The wind had died down, which meant they were traveling at a more leisurely pace. His heart was beating fast against her back.

"As opposed to letting you go splat on the ground?"

"I'm being serious." She frowned. It was difficult to communicate with Scorpius while her eyes were closed. So much of what he said was in the way he looked at her, or what his eyes were saying. She felt his grip tighten slightly on her waist.

"You know, you always ask the difficult questions, Potter," he said grudgingly. She smiled, but chose not to say anything. He shifted uncomfortably against her, sending shocks down her spine. "I guess I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"Why I caught you. I don't know." He sounded almost frustrated, as bewildered as she was. She could picture him in her mind's eyes, running a hand through windswept hair. "It was a sort of reflex, I guess. I like to think that I would have done it for anyone, but the truth is that I probably wouldn't have." He shrugged. "The angle we were traveling at... I broke an arm and fractured a knee, and I got off lucky." He said it matter-of-factly, as if he was commenting on the weather.

Lily sat up straighter, resisting the urge to turn and face him. "No one ever told me that."

"I asked them not to." An onrush of wind hit her face as they sped up, and she didn't need to be facing him to hear the agitation in his voice. "You had enough to deal with."

"About that." Lily swallowed, and burrowed herself more firmly into him. She was suddenly grateful that he wouldn't be able to read her eyes. "You asked me earlier why I - er - wouldn't fly." She drew a sharp breath, drawing on any and all of her Gryffindor courage. "It's what Talc said, about the mark. That's why I can't. Every time I get on a broom, I just picture green and silver coming at me-" She broke off, hoping he would pass her red face off for windburn. "Anyway. It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter?" Scorpius echoed. His hands tightened around her waist, instinctively, almost protectively. "Merlin, Lily, you're scared that a Slytherin's going to kill you if you fly and you agree to come up here with me?" If she didn't know better, she would have sworn he sounded almost angry, though at who she wasn't sure. She frowned.

"It's not like you gave me much of a choice there."

A short pause followed in which they sped up again, and she could tell that he had changed directions as abruptly as he could without throwing her off of the broom. He was being careful, cautious. "Al's a Slytherin," Scorpius said finally. "Are you worried about him killing you?"

"Of course not." Lily felt her forehead crease further. "But he's my brother. I'm fairly certain there's some rule against that."

"Not in the Malfoy family," Scorpius said grimly. "In fact, my grandfather encourages it." Lily pulled a face.

"Well, in the Potter family it is. No murdering anyone at the breakfast table." She moved her hand farther along the broomstick blindly, brushing one of his. There was a sudden jolt as they flew upwards. Scorpius swore, correcting it.

"I'm a Slytherin." His voice sounded strained, though the broom flew steady. "And you don't seem to be trying to jump off."

"Anymore," Lily corrected him. She swore he had a grin in his voice.

"Well, we're in the air now." Seeing her expression, which must have been one of panic, he chuckled. "But only a couple feet. Calm down, we're just skimming the pitch."

"Oh." She relaxed again, falling back against him. There was silence for a moment. Then, "You're different, I suppose. Maybe it's because you're Al's friend or something, but I don't think so. For some reason, I just can't picture you trying to kill me."

"Clearly you're not creative enough." There was definitely an amused note in his voice. They flew on in silence for a moment, the only sound his heartbeat against her back. She could feel her own beating in her chest, matching his almost exactly. "Lily?"

"Yeah?" She felt the broom come to a stop, hovering lightly in the air. She didn't have to guess that he was smiling when he spoke.

"Open your eyes."

They must have been three hundred feet off of the ground. All of Hogwarts sprawled below her, big and imposing. She could see all the way from the black lake down to the quidditch pitch, where miniature figures zoomed around below, weaving in and out of the hoops. Packs of students dotted the grounds, soaking in the winter sunshine before lunch.

And yet, she couldn't help but not feel scared in the least.

"We're really high up," she stated obviously, taking in the whole thing with wide eyes. Scorpius quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you scared?"

She twisted to grin at him. A feeling of pure elation shot through her, stronger and hotter than anything she remembered feeling before. "Not at all."

o.O.o

"You know, I really could have walked myself back." No reply. Lily shot him an agitated look. "Scorpius, are you even going to say anything?" No reply _and_ a smirk. Frustrated, she gave up. It had not been the first time she had said the words nor, she predicted, would it be the last.

Their footsteps made crunching sounds in the snow as they walked, competing with the distant chatter of students. Most had returned in for lunch, leaving their path to the castle blissfully empty. Lily swore she could hear Hugo's loud voice drifting down from the pitch. Scorpius appeared to have noticed the same thing.

"Are you sure he's not part troll?" He cocked an ear, listening experimentally. "I hear faint undertones of grunting that reminds me of trollish."

"You speak trollish?" Lily stared at him incredulously. "Does that even have any advantage to it?"

Scorpius shrugged. His fair hair had bits of snow clinging to the ends of it. "It does if you come across a troll. You can say things like, "I prefer to be eaten with relish" or "No, leave the trainers. They add to the flavoring."

Lily crinkled her nose. "Relish? No one eats relish. It tastes like feet."

For a moment, she thought she had actually offended him. Then she realized his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. "Feet?" he asked finally, still chuckling. "How do you know what feet taste like?"

"I don't know." She bit her lip. "I guess Albus kicked me a lot as kids. I probably tasted his feet once or twice." They walked a moment in silence, listening to the crunch of their shoes again. Lily cleared her throat. "So, english, french and trollish. Is there any other languages you speak?"

There was a wicked sparkle in his eye when he turned to look at her. "I can say "this way to the bedroom" in Spanish. Does that count?"

"No!" Lily laughed, hitting him on the shoulder. For a moment, she forgot who she was with, and she smiled. "Can you really say that?"

Scorpius lifted one shoulder nonchalantly. "Some things are better left off secrets."

They walked a little further, each lost in their own thoughts. Lily bit her lip, shifting her broom slightly. She was grateful, she admitted, that he had helped her to fly again, but the trouble was that she wasn't sure if everything she felt was simply gratefulness. In fact, the oddest sensation of falling that had nothing to do with her recent broom ride had begun in the pit of her stomach.

_It's because he was flying with you_, she told herself firmly. _You love flying, and you loved being up there, and the fact that he was there just confuses you. You're worrying over nothing_.

"Lily?" Scorpius shot her an odd look, jerking her out of her thoughts. "Are you talking to yourself?" She flushed as she realized that she had said the last bit aloud. _You're worrying over nothing_.

"Oh. Yeah, I do that sometimes," she said hastily, attempting to make her voice very unconcerned. "Roxanne says I talk in my sleep." True statement. "And I've not been sleeping well lately." Also a true statement. "So I'm talking aloud instead. It's nothing, really." Well, sort of the truth. Scorpius looked unconvinced.

"Right. Let's have a look, then." He stopped, turning her by the shoulders to face him. She drew in a sharp breath. Gently, more gently than she thought he was capable of, he raised her chin, peering at her face. She tried to keep her breathing as even as possible.

"Well?" Her voice came out breathier than she had intended, and she felt her cheeks flame. "Anything?" His thumb moved to gently run over the skin beneath her eyes.

"You've got circles," he said softly. "Underneath your eyes." She laughed, feeling the vibrations go through her stomach and into his.

"That would be the product of not sleeping."

He dropped her chin but did not move away. She stopped laughing abruptly, frozen by the intensity in his blue eyes. Her heart began to race.

_It's just the flying._

Oh, sod it. It was not the flying.

_Alright, then. He's your brother's best friend_.

But Al would understand.

_You _hate _him_!

Lily searched his eyes, looking for something, anything that could make her pull away. But all she could see was him, his heart and his soul, staring back at her. And for once, she could see who he was.

I don't think I hate him, she thought in surprise.

She swallowed, breathing in the scent of aftershave and spice. I don't hate him, she decided, glancing down at the ground. When she looked up, his eyes were serious. She felt her heart shoot into over-drive as he leaned in, his mouth inches away from hers-

Thump.

She jumped away as something cold and icy connected with her skin. Her hand jumped up automatically, her fingers brushing the spot just below her ribs, where something hard had hit her. She saw Scorpius frowning at her.

"Lily? Did I-" He started forward, but she held up a hand. She found that she couldn't look at him.

"No." Her voice sounded unsure even to her own ear's, but she couldn't fight the jet-cold that had hit her when the object had hit her. "No. It's, uh... are you wearing something? Around your neck?"

For a moment, he simply stared at her, and she wondered if she wasn't going mad. Then he pushed his robes aside to reveal a chain. It winked at her in the winter sunlight. "It was from my parents," he said shortly. "They gave it to me last Christmas."

"Oh." This had not been what Lily had wanted to talk about. She was worried that anymore conversations centered around his family or upbringing might just release a tide of angry feelings between them. "Can I- Do you mind if I look at it?"

Shrugging, he pulled it off, laying it in her hand. The moment it touched her palm, Lily felt her skin erupt in goosebumps. The spot where it had touched below her ribs began to throb. Painfully, she brought it closer to inspect.

It was simple, she presumed, as Malfoy family heirlooms went. A large locket, most likely made of gold, stared back at her. A green snake adorned the front, it's ruby eyes unblinking. It was coiled in the shape of an S. Lily felt a chill run through her.

"Your parents gave this to you?" She glanced up to see Scorpius watching her. Any vulnerability had gone from his face, and his eyes were cold as he looked at her.

"Yes. I suppose you want to burn it, now that you know?"

"For once, you'd be right." She couldn't keep the disgust out of her voice. She handed it to him as if she was returning a particularly disgusting slug. "Here."

His eyes were hard as he took it, slinging it around his neck once more. Lily hardly noticed. There was something hovering around the edges of her mind, an idea that she couldn't quite grasp hold of-

"Easy, Potter. It's just a locket."

And there it was. She stood up straight, thoughts beginning to flash through her mind like fireworks. The locket on the list they had found. How they had presumed it had come from an evil wizard. How most dark wizards came from Slytherin house, and finally how the locket Scorpius wore around his neck had an S on it for Slytherin.

The locket he wore was the same one on the list.

She felt cold icy realization shoot through her veins, and she took an unconscious step backward. Immediately, Scorpius's expression changed from a sneering indifference to confusion.

"Lily?"

"Don't!" she said sharply. Her voice was higher than normal, because for the first time in her life, Lily was truly frightened. She was beyond terrified of what Scorpius could do, about how much he could know.

For all she knew, he could be the one that wrote the list. How much of what he had said was a lie?

His expression was frustrated when he looked at her. "What the hell are you playing at, Lily? You act like you care one moment, and the next you're off your rocker again!" He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts. "Is this about Al?"

"Al," she echoed. Her tone was horrified. Albus. Her brother, her sweet and trusting brother, flashed through her mind. He was probably sitting alone right now in the common room, waiting for Scorpius to get back. But she couldn't let him. She had to be there first, to warn him.

Without another word, she turned on her heel and fled.

o.O.o

_A/N: _Ah, another cliffhanger. I'm sorry to keep putting you all through this, but it just always seems to end this way. That being said, I can promise those of you who have been pulling for Talc that he does appear in this next chapter, and that he and Lily do interact. So maybe you can look forward to that?

In the mean time, please review!

Make sure to tell me your opinion and leave me predictions and bits you liked or didn't like.


	16. The Wrong Idea

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!_

_A/N: I've been getting lazy lately, with the return of back-to-school being the front focus of my mind. It was only by some miracle that I managed to get this up! Nevertheless, please enjoy._

o.O.o

The dungeons were cold and dark as Lily ran. Her feet made clicking sounds on the stone tile, a stark contrast to the otherwise silent corridor. Green light filtered in from the cracks in the wall.

Adrenaline pumped in her veins, spurring her onward as she went. Her heart slammed painfully in her chest. _Bloody sodding git,_ she thought savagely, gritting her teeth as she rounded a sharp bend. _Stringing us all along as he galavanted around with his precious heirloom. Focus, Lily. Just keep going. Al needs to know, Al needs to know, Al-_

"Potter!"

She doubled her pace, elongating her strides until she was running at breakneck speed. She could hear Scorpius swearing colourfully behind her. "Potter, I mean it. Whatever idea you have going through your head-"

"Just leave us alone!" she yelled, speeding up until she was absolutely sprinting. Unfortunately, his legs were twice as long, making him twice as fast. She could hear his footsteps gaining, and she turned around and shot a curse over her shoulder. There was a bang as the beam of light hit the stone wall. She swivelled to face the front again.

_The door_. Lily could have cried with relief. The entrance to the Slytherin common room came into view and she sped up again until she felt as if she was flying, her feet barely skimming the ground. With an alarming bang, she threw herself against the circular entrance.

"Al!" Her voice was desperate, almost shrill in the empty corridor. "Albus Potter! Open this door _right now_." Scorpius was gaining now, rounding the bend and into sight. She pounded her fists harder against the door, willing it to open. "Al, _please_-"

The door opened so abruptly that she stumbled, falling through the open entrance way. A taught pair of arms shot out to catch her. She felt her head collide with someone's chest. Jerking back, her head snapped up to focus on a pair of odd gold eyes.

"Lily?" Talc looked at her curiously. "What are you doing here? Porella's going to murder me in my sleep soon, if I keep-"

"Talc," she sighed, relieved. "Oh, thank Merlin. I need to see Al." To her horror, she felt tears sting at her eyes. She wiped at them hastily, unable to meet his eyes. "Is he- is Al around?"

"Woah, there." Talc took her chin in his hands, making her flinch as she thought of another boy doing the same thing. He immediately dropped his hand, frowning. "Are you alright? You look like you haven't slept in weeks."

"I-" She blanched, turning around as Scorpius stepped through the open doorway. She felt her heart falter. His blonde hair was a rumpled mess, and his tie was askew. But his expression was cool, and he looked as if their sprint across the castle had been nothing more than a pleasant stroll.

"Malfoy," Talc said coldly. She felt his arm shoot out to push her behind him, as if he could sense her fear. "I don't suppose you have anything to do with this."

The blonde's eyes glittered as he looked at the two of them. "Ah, I should have known who she would go running to." His voice was soft, but laced with malice. Lily shuddered. She managed to hold his gaze.

"Don't go near my brother." She was relieved when her voice didn't shake, and she raised her chin. "Stay away from Al, stay away from my family, and stay away from me." A look of hurt flashed across his face, so fleeting she thought she might have imagined it. He raised an eyebrow.

"May I inquire what I did to offend you so greatly?" he asked shortly. Lily swallowed.

"Just stay away," she said. She squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out the stinging. "Don't come near us."

Talc, who's eyes never left the other boy, lowered his voice so that only she could hear him. "Lily, do you want me to deal with him? I could-"

"No," Lily said quickly. Talc cut his gaze to her in surprise, and she gave him what she hoped passed for a smile. "No, thanks. I just want to talk to Al."

"Merlin," Scorpius said, to no one in particular. When Lily glanced up, she saw that he was examining his nails. "Are you two going to take all afternoon? Because I have things I want to do, and you're standing in the way." The threat was clear in his voice. _So move, or I'll knock you down_. Lily clenched her hands into fists.

"You're going to find Albus." It wasn't a question, and he didn't bother answering. She could see it all over his face. Lily blew out a breath, pinching the bridge of her noise. _Even if I talk to Albus, he'll still want to see him. He has that bothersome Slytherin nature of wanting two sides to every story. Bugger_. She glanced up, meeting Scorpius's eyes. "Fine. You can talk to him-"

Scorpius snorted. "Thank-you, for granting me permission to speak to my best mate."

"-so long as I'm there," Lily finished, ignoring his earlier statement. Scorpius looked at her coldly, but didn't bother to argue.

"And your security guard?" He glanced up with a smirk to where Talc stood, still standing dutifully between the two of them. "Do you plan to bring him as well?"

Talc opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Lily interrupted him. "Yeah, I do," she said, surprising herself. Talc's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. Lily felt her cheeks grow hot. "Er, so long as he wants to come along, that is."

To her relief, Talc grinned. "'Course I do," he said. Scorpius muttered something that didn't sound particularly nice under his breath. Lily frowned.

"Let's go, then."

Thankfully, the walk to their dorm room was a lot shorter than she remembered it. By the time they reached the snakes twined in the number four, she had gone almost numb with a blind panic. She shuddered as their beady green eyes followed her impatient shifting. Scorpius pushed open the door, looking like he didn't think much about the decorations on his door anymore.

And there was Albus. Her brother had his feet propped up on his deck, reclining slightly in his seat. His nose buried in a book that looked suspiciously like the horcrux one they had seen in the restricted section. He looked up when they entered, his expression one of perfect surprise. "What the-"

"Al!" Lily threw herself in front of him, as if she could protect him from what he was about to hear. She saw his face change from surprise to confusion, and she held up a hand. "You need to listen to me, alright? You're not going to believe me - and I don't blame you if you don't - but you have to hear me out. He's _dangerous_."

Albus looked at her as if she'd grown three heads. "Are you feeling okay, Lils?"

"It's not _me_ you need to worry about, it's him!" she shouted. She was aware that she sounded somewhat hysterical, but could not find it in herself to care. Albus raised a hand to her forehead, frowning as he felt for a temperature.

"Madam Pomfrey might still have some of that pepper-up potion," he murmured, more to himself than to her, Lily thought. He lowered concerned eyes to hers. "Do you want me to take you? Or I could get Hugo-"

"Albus!" Lily threw her hands up, an absurd feeling of anger overtaking her. "You're not listening!" She glared at him. Her brother looked bewildered.

"What in Merlin's name is she on about?" he demanded, peering around her shoulder to look at Scorpius. "She's not making any sense." Scorpius shrugged.

"Bugger if I know." He slumped down on his bed, loosening his tie until it hung on only by a little. "One moment we're having a normal conversation and the next she's running across the castle, screaming bloody murder." He smirked. "That part was normal, of course. I only figured out something was wrong with her when she ran for Pretty Boy, here."

Though unnamed, it was clear who Scorpius's words were directed to. Talc looked mildly insulted. "Are you worried because I'm better looking than you?"

"I'm worried because you think that you are," Scorpius said, his face splitting into a grin. "Clearly, you've been sniffing too many plants in Herbology."

"Can you two stop it?" Albus asked irritably. "I'm trying to decide if my sister's gone mad, so I'd appreciate some quiet. Thanks." Without another word, he turned back to Lily. "Go on."

"Scorpius is dangerous," she said immediately, not caring who heard so long as Albus understood. Seeing her brother's expression of doubt, she plowed on urgently. "I mean it, Al!"

"Lily..." Albus's voice was one of a classic patronizing brother. He lay a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Have you been sleeping well lately? I think you might be a little tired. You're letting your imagination run away with you." His voice - still gentle - held a note of pity in it. Lily felt her anger swell until she was shaking.

"I'm not making this up!" she exclaimed. "I saw the locket - the one he wears around his neck - and it's the same one on the list."

That caught his attention. He leaned forward, his eyes tugging at her, trying to understand. "What do you mean, it's the same one? How do you know?"

"It has an S, for Slytherin. And- and I could feel it. The dark magic." She lowered her gaze, knowing that Al understood.

When they were younger, their mother had once told them how she could feel dark magic coming from items after an incident in her first year. Lily had never believed her. Then, one day, James brought home a shrivelled hand he had found in the park. Lily had begged to see it, fascinated by the mummified fingers that still twitched when you prodded them. James, never one to make his sister cry, had handed it over immediately. Lily could still remember the ice cold chill that had spread through her veins, making her want to curl up into a ball and just die. It had been the same chill she had felt from the locket.

The cold of something dark.

Albus frowned, like the facts wouldn't add up. "But Scorpius can't own that locket, because it belonged to someone on the list. Someone evil."

Lily could have shaken him. "_Exactly_! Albus, open up your eyes. He's hiding something!" She watched as her brother's gaze, so vulnerable and child-like, shot to Scorpius. His heart was in his eyes.

"Scorpius?"

There was a pause. Lily looked to Talc, who's face was impassive, to Albus, who looked on the brink of destruction, and to Scorpius. And Scorpius looked like she had just dragged him through hell and back. His entire face had drained of colour, and there was something fragile inside of him, she realized. Something that she had shattered.

_Of course,_ she thought tiredly. _I've just accused him of being the worst thing he can imagine. Evil, like his family. _And she knew in her heart that if this string of doubts she had got them no where, she would never, ever forgive herself. Not even if by some miracle, he managed to forgive her.

Scorpius cleared his throat. "Get the Veritaserum," he said hoarsely. Albus stared at him in amazement.

"What?"

"Get the Veritaserum!" Scorpius snapped. His entire body was stiff like a board, tense and ready. "If you don't believe me, fine, don't believe me. Pour some potion down my throat and make me say that I'm innocent." His eyes met Lily's, and she flinched, but held his gaze. "I dare you."

Surprisingly, it was Talc who spoke. "We're not drugging you against your will, Malfoy!"

A ghost of a smile flitted across the blonde boy's face. "Good thing I'm volunteering."

"You're mental, you know that?" Talc shook his head in disbelief. "Completely and utterly mental. You want us to force the truth out of you so that we can believe you, once and for all?"

Scorpius's eyes glittered. "Looks like I was wrong about you, Captain. You're actually pretty smart when it comes down to it."

The two boys locked eyes. Lily swallowed. Beside her, Albus swore loudly. "Okay, say we do it," he allowed, ignoring Talc's look of disbelief. "We have no way of healing you if something goes wrong! This isn't exactly the type of thing Madam Pomfrey is likely to overlook, and I don't think any story about you accidentally inhaling Veritaserum is going to check out." He shook his head. "That leaves us with no way to go for help. No Healer." Scorpius looked momentarily disappointed. Then Talc cleared his throat.

"Actually, we do have a Healer."

Lily was curious despite herself. "Who?"

Talc looked uncomfortable for a moment, shifting back and forth. "Well, me," he said shortly. "I mean, I run a quidditch team. I'm used to dealing with injuries." He shrugged, almost as if embarrassed by his own admission. Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Scorpius got there first.

"Isn't that handy," the blonde said coolly. "I have no reason to worry now if a stray bludger somehow manages to beat down both the common room door, and by chance happens to whack me in the head. Thank Merlin."

"I think what Scorpius is trying to say is that most of the injuries you deal with are superficial," Albus said, shooting Scorpius an unreadable look. Talc, if possible, looked even more embarrassed.

"Er, I'm actually studying to be a Healer." He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "That's why I'm in advanced potions with Rose. And honestly?" He winced, though Lily noted that he met all of their gazes defiantly. "I'm good at what I do." There was a brief silence. Then,

"I'll get it," Albus conceded. "The Veritaserum; I'll get it. Porella said she had some."

Under normal circumstances, Lily would have immediately began demanding answers as to why exactly her brother was talking to someone like Porella. As it was, she merely nodded. "Go."

He did, shutting the door neatly behind him. The tension in the room shot up instantly, rising until the thickness of it choked all of the breath from her lungs. Talc and Scorpius still had not looked away. The seconds beat by as painful as stab wounds.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Talc said finally. "There are plenty of other ways to tell if someone's working for the wrong side."

"Oh?" Scorpius arched an eyebrow. "Please elaborate." Talc finally looked away, stiffly rolling up one sleeve.

"Here," he said, tapping his forearm. "In the first war, they would brand you with the same thing Lily was hit with, but on your arm. That's how they could communicate." Lily, almost powerlessly, scanned his arm for any marks, but it was only smooth skin. A sigh of relief escaped her. Scorpius didn't look as convinced.

"You seem to know a lot about how exactly the wrong side works," he said coolly. There was no accusation in his tone, only a chilly indifference. "You might want to fix that. It could come off the wrong way."

"I have nothing to hide." Talc rolled up his other sleeve, revealing a second bare arm. His gaze was challenging when he looked at Scorpius. "Do you?"

"Want to check?" Scorpius offered sweetly, not missing a beat. Talc scowled, but didn't move. A shroud of tense silence surrounded them. Lily shifted anxiously.

"Oh, alright," she said, starting forward. "I'll do it."

"Lily," Talc began. She shot him a silencing look, turning instead to Scorpius.

"Hold out your arms." He did so, smirking. Refusing to look at his eyes, she instead focused on his sleeves, rolling them up carefully. Her cheeks felt suddenly hot. For some reason, the thought of what she was doing seemed more intensely private than it should have. His skin was smooth and warm under hers.

"Find anything that interests you?" Scorpius asked, almost as if he could read her thoughts. She flushed further, studiously avoiding his eyes.

"Shut-up, Malfoy," she said. Lily scanned his arms, finding only unblemished skin. She dropped them quickly.

"You're clear."

"What a joy," Scorpius announced, rolling his eyes. "I was worried for a moment, but now that I know that I'm in fact _not_ an evil git, I can sleep again at night. Hoorah."

Lily, who had backed up against the wall as soon as she was finished examining his arms, glared at him from across the room. "Let me know when you're done being sarcastic."

"Don't hold your breath." Scorpius turned to look at Talc, not angrily as he had done before, but almost with a grudging curiosity. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Captain?"

"Nowhere as entertaining as this." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides, chances are that when I leave, you're either going to hex Lily or jump across the room and just knife her in the arm."

"The arm?" Scorpius looked vaguely insulted. "My aim is much better than that, I assure you."

Talc's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. In my head, you were aiming for her arm."

"Oh." Scorpius had the good grace to look embarrassed. "My bad." His eyes flicked over to Lily, and his eyes ran over her body almost reflexively. It was as if he could see through her. She shuddered, meeting his gaze defiantly. He grinned in amusement. "And you don't think she could protect herself, I suppose."

There was a beat of silence. Lily glanced up, surprised. Talc had hesitated for a moment too long in her opinion, and she scowled. "Of course I can. I'm perfectly capable." Her words, though answering Scorpius, were directed at Talc.

Talc looked appropriately abashed. "I know you _can_. I just thought that maybe, you know. You wouldn't want to." Lily stared at him in disbelief. If he was looking to be close to someone who was entirely non-violence, she thought grimly, he was barking up the wrong tree.

"Talc, I have four cousins right now who are probably very worried about me. Would you mind going to get them? They'll want to hear this too." It was a test, and he knew it. If he left, he would leave her alone with Scorpius, an idea he was oddly opposed to. If he stayed, he would be admitting that he thought she was too weak to handle herself.

Oddly, he grinned at her. "You would have made a good Slytherin, you know that?" Shaking his head, he reached for the door handle. "I'll be back in a bit."

Lily swallowed as the door closed with a thud. Any earlier bravado she had felt about being alone in a room with Scorpius was gone, and instead icy fear and a guilty sense of anticipation rushed through her. The blonde boy smirked, loosening his tie again until it came undone. He cast it away absentmindedly on the floor.

"So." He leaned back, mussing his hair further against his pillows. "I guess this is where you can finally decide for yourself if I'm evil or not."

"I thought you said that you weren't," Lily reminded him. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on his face, avoiding looking anywhere near his discarded tie. An odd thrill that made her head spin ran through her every time she looked at it. Scorpius eyed her lazily.

"I said I wasn't evil," he said slowly. "I never promised that I was a saint. People aren't made good or evil, Lily. Sometimes things aren't black and white."

She digested the words for a moment. "You're saying that sometimes there are shades of grey," she allowed. "That things aren't always concrete."

"Yes." His blue eyes glittered.

"That could be true." She paused. "But I still think everyone is more of one or the other. It's not possible to be entirely both or to be neither."

For just a moment, he looked lost and disappointed, as if she had mentioned something he had never thought of before. Then he closed his eyes and all she could see was the tired circles on his face. "I guess we'll see which one I am."

And they waited.

o.O.o

The fact that they wanted to drug Scorpius went down about as well as expected.

"No." Rose shook her head vehemently, crossing her arms. "Are you all mad? I'm fairly certain it's illegal for one, and also there's that problem where you might accidentally _kill_ him." Her voice had risen to an uncharacteristic shriek. Lily pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Rose-"

"Do you think I'm that stupid?" her cousin demanded. Her chin was quivering with rage. "Do you honestly think that I wouldn't have noticed if one of my best mates was plotting some evil and sinister plan?"

Lily threw her hands up in exasperation. "You wouldn't have noticed _because_ he's your best mate!"

"That's not fair." Rose looked stricken. "Just because-"

Lily rubbed her temples as her cousin went on a string of complaints, throwing out every logical reason she could probably think of as to why the Veritaserum was morally wrong. _Well, it's not exactly as if I'm thrilled about this either_, Lily thought bitterly. _But someone has to show some Gryffindor bravery. Stupid Ravenclaws and their damn logic._

She looked around the dorm room, noting the various reactions their argument was spurring. Hugo and Roxanne were both inclined to agree with action, Roxanne because she simply liked the idea of doing something and Hugo, Lily suspected, because he liked the idea of doing something to _Scorpius_. Lucy, she guessed, would have been more inclined to take Rose's side, though Talc had not been able to find her. Talc himself looked quite uncomfortable and embarrassed about the whole ordeal, and Scorpius...

Scorpius looked as he always did. Amused, disinterested; it was as if he was watching a particularly boring soap opera take place around him. He hadn't moved from his relaxed position on the bed.

"Well, there's no sense arguing about it until Al returns with the Veritaserum," Lily announced tiredly, cutting Rose off mid-tirade. "He might not even be able to get it. Porella might feed him to the hippogriffs or something." Although she hoped not; it would only add to her mental list of things she had to resolve. Scorpius smirked.

"Oh, he'll get it," he said confidently. "Porella won't like it, but she'd do it for him." Lily frowned. She didn't like Scorpius's choice of words, but she didn't comment. Rose, however, looked sick.

"How can you all talk about this like it's even a possibility?" She was pale, and her red hair looked almost dull in the dungeon light. Lily had rarely seen her cousin this upset. "We could all be _expelled_. Except for Scorpius, of course, because he could likely _die_." She put a lot of emphasis on that last word. Scorpius grinned broadly.

"Aw, stop it, Rosie," he said bashfully. "You're making me blush." Rose scowled at him, though Lily noted that some colour had returned to her face. Hugo snorted.

"You're being sort of melodramatic, don't you think?" he asked, turning to look at his sister. "There's five capable wizards and witches in the room, all of whom know how to take a spell off of someone. Talc's studying to be a Healer! The worst case scenario is that we all drop dead and Malfoy here is left telling the truth for the rest of his life."

"Hey!" Scorpius frowned, pointing a finger at Hugo. "I always tell the truth. I just don't always say it _nicely_." Hugo flexed his fists, but didn't speak. It looked to Lily like the fact that Scorpius was going to be forced to spill his secrets shortly was the only reason Hugo was sticking around. Rose frowned.

"Look, if we could just-"

She stopped as the door flew open, revealing a haggard looking Albus. His hair was mussed as he strode into the room, but his green eyes were bright. In his hand, he clutched a tiny vial of silvery liquid.

"You have it." Scorpius sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the bottle. His expression was hard to read. It was almost the same as the contents of the vial in a way; swirling and endless, changing from one unidentifiable state to the next. "Excellent."

"I'm not sure if _excellent_ is the word that I would use." They all whipped around to stare at the doorway, looking in disbelief to where a figure stood leaning in the doorway. "That's one hell of a mess you're about to get yourself into, Malfoy."

"Porella." Scorpius closed his eyes, a flicker of a smile crossing his face. "I should've guessed you would want to join in the fun."

She tossed her long, dark hair behind her back impatiently. "I figured you might suffocate to death from too many Gryffs." Her icy blue eyes swept over the room, lingering on Lily's face. "Some of them seem quite... attached to you."

Lily immediately felt her temper flare up. "Yes, it's wonderful to see you too, Porella," she snapped, taking a step forward. "I don't suppose we had a chance to talk after you tried to _kill_ me last game! You should stop by for a cup of tea sometime." Porella's blue eyes were almost so dark that they looked black.

"Careful what you accuse people of little lion," she hissed. "Some people might feel _judged_." Lily felt her blood freeze. She glanced quickly to Scorpius, expecting the worst, that he had told her everything she was afraid of, but no. He looked just as surprised as she did. _It's just that they're both Slytherins,_ she thought irritably. _They know how to push my buttons._

Still, the fact that Porella had called her a "little lion" was enough to tick her off sufficiently. "You're one to talk," Lily snorted. "How's your life long career going in terrorizing first years?" She swore she heard Scorpius laugh. Porella looked like Lily may have just slapped her.

"You little-"

"Woah!" Albus stepped in between the two of them, just as Talc had done earlier. He held up his hands in a placating manner. "Easy, ladies. I thought we were here to drug someone."

To Lily's immense surprise, Porella backed down. And then, as if the entire world had gone mad, Porella smiled. _Really_ smiled. "Touché," she said dryly.

"Right." Scorpius got to his feet, moving to sit in a chair by Al. "I'm going to do this. So, if anyone has a problem with it, now's your chance to leave."

Everyone glanced at Rose, who flushed furiously but didn't move. Scorpius nodded. "Alright." He grinned, spreading his arms wide. "Drug me."

Albus snorted. "I'm giving you Veritaserum, not a pat-down." He unscrewed the small vial, and Lily noticed that his hands were shaking. Porella appeared to notice too, and she frowned.

"Give it to me," she instructed, plucking it neatly out of his hands. "You're going to spill it everywhere." But her tone was surprisingly gentle, a stark contrast to the voice she addressed Lily with. Albus shrugged, but looked somewhat relieved.

"This is going to hurt," Porella warned Scorpius. Her hand, still holding the vial, hovered above his mouth. Lily felt her hands tighten on the desk she leaned against. "It will feel like someone has taken hooks and pushed them under your ribs. The truth is not pretty, and it will be most forcefully dragged from you." Her voice was cool and precise. She was neither persuading him nor dissuading him, Lily realized, just merely stating the facts. Scorpius nodded.

"I'm ready."

And she poured the contents of the vial in.

o.O.o

_A/N: I'm clearly enjoying these cliffhangers a lot more than I should! Read and review, anyone? Someone told me last time that they're favorite characters were James and Roxanne; can we get anymore names thrown around?_


	17. Veritaserum

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling_

_A/N: Alright, before the complaints start rolling in, I do know that in the actual series that veritaserum is not described as painful. However, I took the phrase 'the truth hurts' quite literally, so this will be different than it is in the books. Nevertheless, please enjoy!_

o.O.o

The effects were immediate.

Scorpius doubled up as if they had kneed him in the stomach, gasping. Shudders ran through his body. Lily could see the muscles under his skin, writhing in agony. She watched in complete horror as he bit through his lip, trickles of blood running down his chin. A low moan escaped him.

Before she even realized what she was doing, she took a step towards him. Hugo's hand shot out, catching her wrist. She whirled around, about to hit him in a blind panic, when he caught her other wrist as well.

"Let me go!" she demanded, struggling to pull her wrists away. "Can't you see that it's killing him? Let me _go_, Hugo!"

His brown eyes were fighting some own moral struggle, but he held on as if she was a life raft out at sea. "You can't," he said sadly. "Lilsy, you want the truth, don't you?"

"Not like this!" Lily redoubled her efforts, digging her nails into the flesh of his arms. "I don't want to see him- I just can't-" She shook her head violently, throwing herself toward the blonde boy in the chair. "_Please_, Hugo. Please let me go."

And for the briefest moment, she thought that she had won. His grip on her wrists loosened marginally, enough to let her know that he was thinking about it. Then Roxanne leaned in.

"Lily." Her voice was uncharacteristically sober. "If you had wanted to help him, you would have just used your wand and ended it." Her eyes were sad.

Lily fell against the bed that Hugo sat on, curling her knees up to her chest. She could feel herself shaking. Hugo, almost automatically, reached out to pull her against him. She did, gratefully collapsing into him. But when he tried to shield her eyes, she pulled away slightly.

"Don't," she whispered. "I want to- I have to see this. I did this." The guilt gnawing at her insides felt almost pleasant, a well-deserved punishment. Hugo shook his head.

"You did a good thing, Lily," he said gently. "The truth had to come out eventually. He could have been putting as all in danger, especially you." Seeing her crest-fallen expression, he seemed to hesitate. "Look, you're not enjoying this, alright? Don't beat yourself up. You would help if you could make this any easier for him."

Lily laughed bitterly. "Don't you get it, Hugo? Rox is right; I _can _help." She turned to meet Roxanne's eyes. They were dark wells of sympathy. She looked quickly away, focusing on Scorpius. "I could have cast a spell to make it all stop. But I didn't."

For once, he didn't seem to know how to respond. Lily stood up abruptly, breaking out of Hugo's comforting embrace. The guilt became more unbearable as she drew closer to Scorpius, almost painful, and a sort of sick satisfaction settled in her gut. She dropped to the floor, kneeling by Scorpius's feet. If the other three Slytherin's surrounding him were surprised, they hid it well. Rose, she noted, had taken over her former position by Hugo's side.

Scorpius was still gasping for air, though he looked as if he had regained some small amount of control. His face was drawn and pale. Sweat made his fair hair cling to his temples. Albus was looking at him with a sick expression, and Lily felt just the same.

_None of us are going to be able to do it,_ she thought tiredly. _We all know him too well. Even Talc won't be able to ask him things, especially if he feels like he's forcing the answers from him. _Porella seemed to realize the same thing. Tossing her dark hair back, she stepped forward until she was in Scorpius's line of vision. Her voice was cool and precise.

"What is your name?" she asked clearly.

Scorpius gasped. A hand shot to his throat, as if he could stop the words from coming out. "Scorpius Malfoy," he groaned, cringing. "Bloody buggering _hell_." Lily winced along with him. Albus retreated several paces, his face an odd green shade. Porella continued in the same calm, collected tone.

"State your age and house."

"_Seventeen_," he gasped. His eyes were watering, and his hands had flown up to his throat again. "I'm in Slytherin." He groaned again, squeezing his eyes shut. "It feels like- tenterhooks." He inhaled sharply, as if his throat was swelling up. "Under- my ribs. Hurts."

Lily shot a frantic look at her brother, who was now sitting on the bed with his eyes closed. She felt her heart sink; she often wished that he was stronger, more Gryffindor at times, and now was no exception. She didn't have the first clue how to comfort Scorpius Malfoy.

As if spurred on by her thoughts, he swore loudly, doubling over again. His shirt was sticky with sweat, and he was panting as if he had been running a distance. Porella looked unmoved. "Who are your parents?"

He moaned. "Draco and Astoria Malfoy," he hissed, clenching his teeth. "They- disowned me." He was interrupted by his next words by a loud string of coughing, and when he moved his hand away from his mouth, there was blood. Lily felt her heart falter and then stop. Automatically, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. Scorpius seemed to barely notice the contact. He was glaring angrily at Porella. "No more-" Cough. "-stupid questions." Lily squeezed his hand again, unsure of what to do. Porella nodded crisply.

"Then I'm done." She turned to Lily, her eyes hard. "That means that you'll have to ask the questions, Potter."

Lily felt bile rise in her stomach. "Me?" she echoed. "I can't." And that part, she surmised, was probably the truth. Her stomach was churning so much that she wouldn't be surprised if she was ill all over the carpet. Porella gave her a severe look.

"Do you want him to suffer?" She jerked her head to where Scorpius sat, breathing hard. His eyes were flickering beneath his eyelids. "Because the longer we sit here and debate this, the harder it is. Trust me, I've had more than one person question me about my intentions. My parents are especially fond of it."

There was no plea for sympathy in her voice, only a calm factual statement. And for the first time, Lily felt a flash of something like understanding. For a moment, Porella could have just as easily been Rose. "Alright," Lily said hesitantly. "I can do it."

"You can, or you will?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Lily swallowed.

"I will."

"Good." Porella gave her something like a smile before also taking a seat, collapsing as if she had aged many years. For just a second, Lily could see things in the girl's eyes that made her feel oddly sympathetic. Guilt. Shame. Horror at doing what her parents had done to her. Then, in a flash, they were gone.

Lily turned back to Scorpius, summoning all of her courage. She took a deep, steady breath. "Have you ever lied to us?" she asked. Her voice was less calm than Porella's, and she was embarrassed to note that it cracked in the middle. "Have you ever lied to me?"

Scorpius groaned, his eyes shooting open in pain. "Yes," he gasped. Lily waited for shouts and surprise to ripple around the room, but no one moved. Even Talc did not draw any satisfaction in being right. She took a steady breath.

"When?"

"I lied- to you," he choked, pulling at his throat again. "The day under the tree. You asked- you asked me what I said in French and I lied." That had not been what she was expecting, and she frowned. Scorpius gasped, pushing at his lungs as if he could force the air up. Lily touched her own throat in a gesture of automatic sympathy.

"What did you say?" she asked softly. "In french, what did you say to me?"

"I asked you if you knew you were beautiful," he ground out. His hands had formed fists on the chair ends. "But that's- that's the only time I lied."

"So you're not working for any Dark Lord or plotting against us?" Lily clarified, feeling her heart banging against her chest. She squeezed his hand as his back arched, and he fought to stay in the chair. "Please, Scorpius, just tell us. It'll only be a little longer."

"No!" He fell back against the furniture, panting. "I'm not working for- for anybody. I trust you." Lily bit her lip.

"Have you ever considered working for someone? Has anyone ever offered?"

"My parents," Scorpius hissed, clenching his teeth. A low moan escaped him. "They asked- asked me to join them. Near the beginning of term. I refused, and they kicked me out- damn it!" He curled up, flinching as a look of pain shot across his face. His blue eyes were tortured, and when they locked gazes, Lily found that she couldn't breathe for a moment. His damp hair fell into his eyes, and she pushed it aside unthinkingly. The blues in his gaze darkened until they were almost black.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked gently. His eyes widened.

"I-" He closed his eyes shut again, struggling. Only this time, Lily could tell it was a different kind of struggle. Scorpius was trying to hold the words in instead of trying to get them out. He swore, arching his back again. Immediately, Al was on his feet. Never had Lily seen her brother look so angry.

"Scorpius!" he barked, grabbing onto both boy's shoulders. "You will listen to me." He shook him, waiting until Scorpius focused on Al, gasping for air. He had his mouth sealed tight as if he could stop the words from escaping. Al seemed to notice that as well. A grim expression settled over his face. "I _hate_ this. I hate watching you, and I hate having to do this to you. But any questions you avoid answering are just going to make me hate this for longer, alright? You're my best mate," he said, his voice softening a degree. "But right now, if you could be a threat to my sister, I don't care if you're the Minister of Magic."

"I _can't_," Scorpius gasped, struggling against whatever was gripping him from inside. "You don't- don't understand. I can't answer that!" Lily felt a flash of fear go through her. She knocked her brother gently aside with her shoulder, leaning in so that Scorpius and herself were nose-to-nose. _If he has any plans to kill me,_ she thought grimly, _he'll be thinking about them now_.

Lily tried her best to imitate Porella's commanding tone. "Scorpius Malfoy, what are you thinking about at this exact moment?" She waited, not moving an inch. The room seemed to freeze. She could feel his labored breathing on her cheeks as he struggled to hold something inside of him. Then she could see the dam break in his eyes.

"How beautiful you are!" he burst out, groaning as another wave of pain hit him. "I think about you a lot, and how beautiful you are. I think you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen." Scorpius gasped, sucking in a breath as he keeled over again. A choked laugh escaped him. "There. I hope you're all really- god damned happy."

Lily felt her entire body go limp with shock. Scorpius Malfoy had not only just announced that he thought that she was beautiful, but also that he thought that she was the prettiest girl that he had ever met. Her brain felt numb, as if too much information had been absorbed. Albus looked similarly thrown.

"But Lily's my sister." He said it with a child-like wonder, as if he was looking at the world properly for the first time. "And you're my best mate."

"Don't ask me if- if you don't want to know," Scorpius gasped, his face deathly pale. A pained chuckle escaped him. "You- should see your face."

Albus didn't look nearly as amused. A sort of grim understanding had settled around him, as well as a dark look of brotherly-protection. "Would you sleep with her?"

Scorpius, for once, looked absolutely mortified. "Al!" he choked out, his hands tightening around the arms of the chair. Al looked relentless.

"_Would_ you?"

Scorpius gasped, his head snapping back as the force of Al's words hit him. He opened his mouth, most likely to reply, just as Lily hopped to her feet. Whipping out her wand in one fluent motion, she pointed it directly at his forehead.

"Finite Incantatem!"

The second seemed to hang suspended in the air as everyone watched the jet of red light, striking him precisely where Lily had intended. Scorpius shuddered violently before slumping against the chair, his eyes closed. His face appeared drained of all blood, and his hand had gone limp in Lily's. Albus's expression of abject horror mirrored her own.

"Oh, will you two relax?" Porella came over to stand by them. She swept her long hair out of her way as she knelt down, examining his face. She straightened up with a smirk. "He's still alive. You Gryff's just have a little bit too much enthusiasm when you cast spells; he'll probably be asleep for the next couple hours."

"It won't hurt him, will it?" Lily asked abruptly, her eyes scanning Scorpius's face of their own accord. "I mean, when he wakes up. He'll be fine."

Porella rolled her eyes. "Aside from the fact that he just had his emotions lay out for everyone to see against his will, then yes, he'll be just fine." Lily noticed her blue eyes softened minutely as she looked at Albus. They looked more like sapphires than the usual sharp ice. "He'll probably feel like he has a wicked hangover. It might be better for him to just have a couple people in the room."

Her words could not have been clearer; if you're not a Slytherin, get out. Lily rose shakily, leaning on the wall for support. She met Porella's eyes. "Will you tell him-" She hesitated, thinking back to what Scorpius had said earlier. _I only say sorry if I really mean it._ "Tell him that I say I'm sorry. And tell him that I was thinking of the time outside the Burrow when I said it."

Lily wasn't certain why she told Porella to give him a message and not her brother, but the moment she saw Porella nod in a business-like manner, she had a feeling that she had made the right decision. She managed a smile at her brother before turning to follow her cousins out of the room. It was only when she realized that Talc wasn't following them that she turned back.

"You're not coming?" she asked in surprise. Talc shook his head.

"I'm going to stay."

Lily frowned. "Why?" She couldn't imagine why, out of everyone, Talc had felt the need to stay. Certainly, he was a Slytherin, but by no stretch of imagination had he even tried to become friends with Scorpius. To her astonishment, he grinned.

"I've done a lot of stupid things in my life, but ticking off Scorpius Malfoy might top the list." He rubbed at his chin thoughtfully, touching the shadow of a bruise that remained. "I figure that if there's one time that he's likely to listen, it's when he's too weak to hit me."

Lily felt her lips twist into a smile. "Good luck with that."

She shut the door behind her.

o.O.o

Lily thought she did a studious job of avoiding Scorpius over the next couple weeks.

She ate meals at odd hours, opting instead to play quidditch when the houses gathered to eat. She avoided going anywhere near the Slytherin dungeons, and furthermore, avoided any offers from Rose that she come with to visit Scorpius. Unfortunately, Rose never made that part easy.

"Lily, it's been three weeks!" her cousin huffed. Rose had kept a steady pace behind her, following her from her last class and then up the stairs, towards the Gryffindor dormitory. "This is getting ridiculous! Just come and see him."

"Rose," Lily said tiredly. "I don't want to see him. He doesn't want to see me. It sort of works out in the end, alright?" Rose snorted, lunging forward to match her elongated strides.

"The last time you saw him, he was keeled over in agony, and you looked like someone had slapped you across the face."

Lily frowned. She felt absurdly upset about that last comment. "You weren't exactly doing well yourself, if I remember correctly," she said, nettled. It was a low blow, and Rose winced. Lily felt only a small twinge of guilt.

"Well, at least I've been to see him since," Rose plowed on bravely. "You've been _hiding_. Admit it, Lily. You're avoiding him."

At last, Lily felt something inside her snap. After weeks of being followed by a red-haired shadow, she was exhausted and paranoid and ready to hex Rose right here and now. She stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs, wheeling around to face her cousin. "Alright, so I've been avoiding him! That's not exactly earth-shattering news, Rose. I avoid him whenever I get the chance."

"No, you don't," Rose said. She sounded almost smug. "I'm not blind. I can see the way you two look at each other." Lily gave an incredulous laugh.

"What, like we want to kill one another and then burn the body?"

"No." Rose's eyes glinted with a steely certainty. "Like you're in love with him."

That brought her up short. Lily tried in vain for a moment to speak, but only managed to open and close her mouth. It appeared that words had failed her. So, instead, she laughed. She laughed until she felt something wet slide down her cheek, and it took her a moment to realize that she was crying.

That only made her laugh harder. "You- think- I'm in love with- _Scorpius_?" Lily gasped, wiping at her eyes. She chuckled again. "Oh, I wish Roxanne was here for this." Rose scowled.

"I'm being serious!" she said sharply. "Come on, Lily. It's not exactly like you try to hide it. Everyone in that room saw you holding his hand."

"Because I felt guilty. I feel guilty," Lily said stoutly. Rose frowned.

"Well, then the time that you asked me if we were dating."

"Because I was _curious_," she stressed.

But her cousin merely shook her head. Lily could tell that Rose was about to play her trump card. "The time that he convinced you to get back on a broom."

Lily faltered. Even _she_ didn't know what she had felt then. How was she supposed to justify that to Rose? It had been something she had never experienced before, sort of a warm tingly feeling near her gut. She frowned as something occurred to her. "Wait, how do _you_ know about that?"

Rose smiled. "I'm a Ravenclaw, Lily. I could tell that you weren't exactly thrilled to get back on a broom. I would have offered to help you, but I don't fly. Besides," she added bemusedly. "Scorpius looked like he had a handle on it."

Lily groaned. "Well, I can't see him, Rose. Not because I'm madly in love with him, or even because I fancy him. I just can't." She avoided looking at her cousin's eyes, and instead stared fixedly at the wall behind her head. Rose sighed.

"Then at least tell me _why_ you can't," she said stubbornly. "Is it because he said that you were beautiful? Is that what it is?"

"No!" Lily protested, stunned. "Come on, Rose. I wouldn't be scared off by something like that." Again, she felt slightly irritated. She was in Gryffindor house for a reason, after all.

Rose was getting visibly frustrated. She shifted impatiently, crossing her arms. "You're not exactly giving me much to go on here, Lily. Honestly? I'm just throwing out ideas and hoping that you'll respond to one." Lily closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

"Will you leave me alone if I tell you?" She cracked open one eye, just enough to see Rose nodding eagerly. "No more chasing me around the castle like a crazy kniffler after galleons?"

"I promise," Rose said solemnly. Lily groaned.

"Alright. It's because I feel..." She hesitated, wondering how best to describe it. "Afraid, maybe. Angry. Sort of non-deserving."

Now Rose was looking at her as if she had sprouted a pair of antlers. "That's not exactly a reason. In fact, it's three different unrelated emotions, Lily."

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I know. I'm not the one-emotion-only type of girl, unfortunately."

Rose reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "Am I allowed to ask _why_ you're feeling like that, or does that sort of fall under the whole crazy-kniffler thing?" Lily surprised herself by smiling.

"I think you're allowed to ask that one," she said softly. Hesitating, she added, "I guess I feel angry at myself for putting him through that, and I'm afraid that he'll be angry too."

"He won't be." Rose said it certainly, as if she was quoting a fact from her Transfiguration textbook. "He'll just be glad you came to see him."

"Yeah." Lily's voice sounded dejected, even to her own ears. "But I'm also afraid of that. Don't you see, Rose? He _deserves_ to get mad at me. I falsely accused him of being evil, and then watched as they tortured him to prove it!" Her voice had risen to a shout, and she was breathing hard. To her horror, she also realized that she was blinking back what felt like tears.

Rose had a gentle expression when she looked at her. Her warm brown eyes were melted chocolate. "He understands, though, and that's what makes him special. Don't _you_ get it, Lily? Scorpius is one of the only boys out there who could possibly forgive you for putting him through that. Don't let him get away."

And with that, she turned and left, leaving Lily standing alone outside the Gryffindor common room.

o.O.o

_A/N: So that chapter was a little... tense?_

_Yes, I think tense fits quite nicely. Still, make sure to sound off in the review section about what you thought of all of that. And what about Talc? Is he growing on anyone? Please review!_


	18. Kiss Me

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling_

_A/N: I was looking over my planner the other day, and it looks like this whole thing is going to amount to about 35 chapters roughly. I know what you're all thinking right now; "Wow! I had no idea it was going to be so long!"_

_Yeah. Neither did I._

_Please enjoy! _

o.O.o

Talc had not been thrilled about letting her into the common room a third time, but he had done it anyway. Lily had used her best groveling skills, as well as any charm or pleading she could muster. He didn't bother to lead her to the room this time, only told her to watch out for Porella on her way.

Lily reached the dorm room in record time, only glancing once at the snakes entwined in a four before quickly knocking. She had a nagging feeling that if she waited any longer, any Gryffindor courage she had summoned would be gone. Almost immediately, the door swung open.

"Rose, I said I'm _fine_- oh." Scorpius Malfoy stood framed in the doorway, his face hidden in shadows. Only his fair hair shone, a sharp contrast to the dark surroundings. "It's you."

"Er, hi." Lily shifted awkwardly. She actually hadn't come up with much of a plan on her way here, only running off of the high that Rose's words had left her with. "How are you?"

His smirk was barely visible in the corridor. "The same as I was five minutes ago, only this time you're around to see it." The dig was slight, though Lily felt it anyway. She winced.

"I was going to come see you-"

"When dementors learned to smile?" he finished, raising an eyebrow. "It's fine, Potter. Are you here to see Al about Hogsmede tomorrow?" He pushed the door open wider, allowing her to pass through. She did with only slight trepidation.

"No, actually." Lily sat down on her brother's bed, throwing her cloak down beside her. The gold stood out strikingly obvious amidst the green and silver. "Rose told me- she said... well, I came to see you." She refused to look at him, instead concentrating on folding her cloak. The material felt slippery and smooth in her hands.

There was a brief pause. Scorpius turned around, fiddling with his wand near the grate. "What, no sing-alongs scheduled in Gryffindor Tower today? Don't you Gryffs do each other's hair and stuff?" The flames sprung to life, flooding the room with warmth. But Lily couldn't help but still feel chilled. A sense of foreboding had filled her.

"No," she said automatically, tossing her long, red hair behind her. "I think today is Celebrate Slytherin day. We just sit around and sneer at people a lot." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She was here to apologize, wasn't she?

Scorpius looked at her for a long time. Just when she had begun to worry that he might never move again, his face split into a wide grin. "Touché." He lay down on the bed next to her's, sprawling casually against the pillows. His fair hair was rumpled and stuck up in different directions all over his head. Lily had to resist the urge to smooth it down for him.

She bit her lip. "Look, I don't know if Porella told you-"

"She did." Those smoldering blue eyes studied her, peering at her face as if she was a particularly interesting book. Lily shivered, averting her gaze. When it was clear he wasn't going to continue, she tried again.

"Well, I meant it. I should have let you explain." She drew a breath, focusing again on the fire. The flames burned a low, enchanted green that matched the decor nicely. "I panicked, and I shouldn't have gone to Al like I did. I was just-"

"Afraid?" Scorpius gave her a wry smile. "I don't blame you. I'm afraid of me too, sometimes." He said it casually, as if he was talking about the weather, but there was a pain behind his words that she hadn't heard him speak with before. Lily stared at him for a moment before recovering herself.

"I was going to say _hurt_, actually," she corrected him. "I was hurt. I thought- Um." She paused, feeling her cheeks heat up. "Damn it!" she said, doing her best to hide her blush. Scorpius laughed softly.

"What did you think?" he asked. His tone was nonchalant, but she could see the spark of curiosity in his eyes. Lily sighed unhappily.

"I thought that you were betraying my trust," she admitted grudgingly. She hadn't even realized she had trusted him until that moment. "I thought- I don't know." She stopped abruptly, wondering exactly how it could be that she was a girl, and yet completely unable to express her feelings.

What was that word that Teen Witch Weekly had used? Tongue-Tied?

Yes. That was it. She was tongue-tied.

Scorpius looked vaguely amused by the whole thing. "Are you sure that you're not a poet? I sense some great vocabulary in there."

"Shut-up," Lily muttered. She rubbed at her temples. "Look, can you just accept my apology? It would make this a lot easier." Scorpius looked at her blankly.

"I didn't hear any apology."

"You can't be serious." Her head snapped up, meeting his gaze. His expression was solemn, but there was an amusement in his eyes that made her blood boil. "I already said I'm sorry! I'm not going to say it twice."

"No, you told Porella to tell me that you were sorry," he said calmly. "I don't believe I ever heard you say it." Black thoughts clouded in her head. She glared at him. _Stupid, self-righteous, smug little git._

"I said that what I did was a bad thing to have done," she said measuredly. "Isn't that enough for you?" She pressed on without pausing, not giving him a chance to answer. "You could have been dangerous! That locket was practically glowing with dark magic, and yet you never figured it out. It could have cost us."

There was something hard in Scorpius's eyes when he looked at her. "That didn't give you the right to go running to _Talc_ of all people, and telling him our life stories!" Lily couldn't help it. She did the worst thing possible and laughed.

"At least Talc is good," she said bitterly. "He's good, and he's whole, and he always does the right thing. _Always_, even though he's a Slytherin." She left out the part she really wanted to say, the part where Scorpius rarely did the right thing and that it frustrated her to the brink of insanity. Scorpius snorted.

"Don't fool yourself, Lily. He only wants in your pants."

"No, apparently that's _you_." The second the words were out, she realized that she had crossed a line. Scorpius's face drained of blood, and he looked like he had been sucker-punched in the face. Immediately, her heart went to her throat. "Scorpius-"

"Oh no, go right ahead." He sat up straight, his face a mask of dark anger. "Do tell me what exactly I said. I can't remember because I was blacking out at the time." Lily jerked back.

"I didn't know that it was going to hurt! Porella never said-"

"Don't blame this on Porella," he said quietly. He may as well have stabbed her through the heart. She laughed again, although this one had a slightly hysterical edge to it.

"Oh, of course not," she said maliciously. "My apologies. I had forgotten that you fancy her."

He looked at her blankly for a moment. Then, his expression became one of incredulity. "You think I fancy _Porella_?"

"I know you do," she said savagely, jumping to her feet. "It's not exactly a secret! You know where she is all the time, and you bring her up _constantly_. Do you think the rest of us are blind?" She paused, sucking in a sharp breath. Her head spun for a moment. She had heard those words earlier, the exact same ones that Rose had used when accusing her of liking Scorpius.

_Rose_, she thought sadly. _She wanted me to come here and apologize, and all I do is make a bigger mess of things. So much for not flying off the handle_. But Scorpius irritated her, made her crazy half the time, and right now he was standing in front of her, glaring. Lily wanted nothing less than to apologize again.

"Do you ever stop making assumptions about me?" he demanded, taking a step forward. "First my family, then this locket, and now Porella." He shook his head, his blue eyes alight with anger. "I don't suppose you want to accuse me of enslaving House Elves as well?" His voice was mocking. She felt a sharp anger register in the pit of her stomach.

"You're a bastard," Lily hissed. Her voice was hard. "You and Porella deserve one another." Scorpius let out something like a choked laugh.

"Is that what this is?" He leaned closer, close enough that she was forced to look at him. A smirk was hovering around his lips. "You're jealous."

Lily drew back, inhaling sharply. Her whole body was quivering with rage. "I am _not_."

"Then why keep making assumptions?" he demanded, a smug tone entering his voice. "Why bother?" Lily choose to ignore this. She clenched her hands into fists.

"Me?" she asked. Her voice was deadly calm. "I'm the one making assumptions? _You're _the one that always makes the damn assumptions!" Her tone had risen to a wild shriek, and she saw him step back in surprise. "You assume I'm _innocent_ because I'm in Gryffindor." She advanced on him, poking him hard in the chest. "And you think that I'm _irrational_ because I have a temper!" Another poke. "And you also, apparently, think I'm _inexperienced_ because you have this deluded idea that I have never kissed a guy before!"

His back hit the wall, and for once, she thought with a grim satisfaction, he looked completely stunned. Though he was many inches taller than her, her anger made them seem level. Scorpius arched an eyebrow. But, "You are irrational, Potter," was all he said.

Lily hardly dared to breath. The anger was rising in her, hot and fast. And they were close, so, so close, and all of a sudden she didn't care anymore. She didn't want to worry about anything and she didn't want to yell anymore. All she wanted was to prove him wrong. "Sod it," she growled.

Their lips collided with an untamed ferocity. She felt like her entire body was burning up, and she pushed against him harder, gasping. She could taste the bitter salt of desire mixing with spice on her tongue, a taste so Scorpius that she could barely breathe. His hands wrapped around her waist, and he flipped her around and pushed her roughly up against the wall. She couldn't help but moan as his hands ran up to the sensitive skin near her thigh. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling at the silky fine strands in retaliation. He made a noise deep in his throat, shoving her harder against the wall. She could hardly feel it.

Her nails dug deep into his shoulder and she arched her neck, allowing him to trail hot kisses down to her collarbone. Her fingers went for his shirt automatically, and she pulled at the buttons, willing them to come undone. She leaned into the wall as he kissed alongside her bra strap, making her knees go weak.

Then the chilling cold hit her.

It was the same as before, only higher up, just below her chest. She gasped, trying to move backwards, but met only the wall. Grimacing, she shoved Scorpius back as hard as she could. His look was pure bewilderment.

"Are you alright? Did I do something?"

"You're still wearing it?" she demanded.

And there it was. He had concealed the locket beneath his shirt, which in her haste, she had very nearly ripped off. His blonde hair was tousled, and his lips were swollen where she had kissed them. His blue eyes were defensive when he looked at her.

"So what if I do?"

Lily gaped at him. "So what?" she echoed. "So _what_? Did you miss the part where that thing is utterly corrupted? It could kill one of us, Scorpius! We have no idea if it's still a horcrux or not! And even if it isn't, that thing still has some serious dark magic around it."

"Well, then what should I do with it?" He glared at her, his hand shooting up automatically to touch the locket. "Give it to some first year so that they can be corrupt instead?"

"Don't you dare," Lily said shrilly. "Don't you dare justify keeping it as some noble act. You're _attached_ to that thing, Scorpius! You know perfectly well that you could just ship it back to your parents."

There was silence between them. Those blue eyes, which just a moment ago had been filled with lust, were now staring at her accusingly. Lily wanted to scream, to beat some sense into him. But she waited calmly until he spoke.

"I already said that I wasn't working for anyone," he said darkly. "I gave my word under Veritaserum that I wasn't evil. Would you like to drug me again? Because I can go a second time, if you like. You can ask me some more personal questions."

Lily felt her cheeks heat up, but she ignored the later part of his statement. "I said that _you_ weren't evil," she corrected him, "not that your little heirloom there is a spot of sunshine." He narrowed his eyes.

"And what defines something as evil, Lily?" he asked sharply. "Because I remember saying to you before that things aren't always good or evil. Black or white. Anything or nothing. There's some-"

"Grey area, yes, I remember," Lily interrupted him. "But that doesn't mean that some things can't be one or the other, and right now, that thing you're holding is evil. Black. It could be anything." Her eyes burned into his hand.

Scorpius, who apparently hadn't realized that he had been clutching it tightly, dropped it immediately. It swung from the long chain around his neck. He stared at it for a long time. Finally, when he looked up at her, his expression was one of desperation.

"It's all I have left of them, Lily." His eyes, silently begging her to understand, were entreating. "I feel like if I lose this, they're gone to me. Forever."

_His parents_. Lily felt her heart sink. Somewhere to her left, the fire gave its last crackle and then died. The boy in front of her, not quite yet a man, looked at her with a mixture of hope and desperation. His eyes were so child-like and naive that she felt her heart break a little.

"Get rid of it," she said sharply.

The fire had faded to ashes as she closed the door behind her.

o.O.o

The Three Broomsticks was packed with students. Little scrubbed tables were overflowing with pints of butterbeer and treacle tart, and somewhere Lily could smell a batch of pumpkin pasties being baked. The cheerful laughter of students rose above the hum of scattered conversation. Lily noted that her brother had chosen a booth as far away as possible from anyone else.

"I still feel like I'm being ambushed," Lily announced, glancing about the pub. Many students shot her curious looks, but most were too engrossed in their own discussions to bother. She traced her finger around the rim of her glass. "In fact, I know I'm being ambushed. You're treating the rest of the room like they've all contracted dragon pox."

Albus's expression was calm as he sipped at his butterbeer. "Obviously not. None of them have even have pock marks. I would guess Scrofungulus, or-"

"Liars sickness?" Lily suggested innocently. She raised her eyebrows. "Al, I'm not that thick. I know you have something to say, so spit it out."

Her brother actually looked hurt. "Maybe I just wanted to spend the day with you." Lily laughed, but shortly disguised it as a cough.

"I seriously doubt you would give up a day with Scorpius and Rose to come and hang-out with your kid sister," she said, holding up a hand as he began to protest. "Besides, you would have normally told Hugo, Lucy and Rox to come along as well. But you didn't." She scrutinized his face, which was unchanged. Yet the bobbing of his adam's apple gave him away. "Come on, Al. Just tell me."

He hesitated. "I don't want to upset you-"

"Trust me when I say that I've had worse," Lily said grimly. An image of Scorpius swam in her mind, his grey eyes pleading with her to understand. She flinched. _I'm a horrible person_, she thought guiltily. _A horrible, spiteful person_.

"Lily?" Albus peered at her closely. "Are you alright?"

Lily jerked herself out of her thoughts. "Fine," she said quickly. "I was just- thinking. About things. Thinking about things that needed to be... thought about." It sounded lame even to her own ears. Albus frowned.

"_This_ is what I wanted to talk to you about." He shook his head. "I'm worried about you, Lils! I can barely recognize you anymore. You've lost weight, and you look stressed, and you snap at everyone who comes within a mile of you."

"I do not!" she said irritably. Albus gave her a knowing look, and she shrunk back. "Point taken."

"It's just..." He bit his lip, glancing around the pub before lowering his voice. "Is this about the match? Because Rose could be wrong, you know, about people trying to... hurt you. And even if they were, I wouldn't let them." He seemed to gloss over the fact that someone was most likely, in fact, trying to kill her, and Lily felt her irritation grow.

"Oh, yeah? Do you plan to stand in front of them with a gigantic basilisk? Because otherwise, I'm fairly certain the only other way to get rid of them is a killing curse, and I can't see you using one of those." Her words were harsh, and Al flinched as though she had struck him. Immediately, her sense of guilt intensified. "I'm sorry. That was unnecessary."

"Do you see what I mean, though?" His eyes were earnest, almost eager. "You're not alright, Lily, and every time you say it, the less true it becomes."

Suddenly, his gaze became too convicting, and she dropped her eyes to her glass again. Drops of condensation ran from the rim down the cool glass. "I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping well."

"But there's a reason for that, isn't there?" he asked shrewdly. Albus seemed to debate for a moment, before adding gently, "Is it Scorpius? Is that what this is? Because I can talk to him."

That brought her up short. Lily immediately panicked, her eyes flying up to search his expression. But all she found was a curiosity. _He doesn't know,_ she thought in relief. _Scorpius didn't tell him about last night_. Still, his question bothered her. Was it Scorpius?

"I think that might be part of it," she admitted honestly. "But I don't think that's really it. You don't need to talk to him, Al. I can handle him myself." Or she could have before, at least. Now she wasn't entirely certain, but she felt no need to mention that part to her brother. Albus was lost in thought, tracing the grooves in the wooden table.

"It's the locket, then," he said finally. Lily felt her blood freeze. Her heart was in her throat when she spoke.

"But he got rid of it, didn't he?" she asked carefully, searching her brother's face. "And we asked him under Veritaserum, and he said that it wasn't evil." She wasn't sure why she was taking Scorpius's side, but some primal urge to defend him had risen within her. Albus shrugged.

"He said that _he_ wasn't evil, not that the locket wasn't." Seeing her expression of disbelief, he quickly added, "Don't get me wrong, Scorpius is like a brother to me. But I'm not sure that even he knows the full extent of what this thing could do."

"So he does still have it then?" Lily asked, trying to keep her tone innocently curious. "He kept it?" Albus nodded.

"I think it reminds him of his parents." Al looked up abruptly, as if his own words had surprised him. "Only don't tell anyone that. I don't think he likes admitting it."

Lily felt yet another squirm of guilt go through her as Scorpius's face drifted through her mind, his expression one of open hurt. She shifted uncomfortably. "I won't. It's just- I can sense it, Al. The evil in the locket is so strong, you wouldn't believe it. I've never felt anything like it before. It's almost like-" She paused, struggling to find words. "Like this black hole, sucking all the light into it. Something used to be there, to hold it in place, but now it's gone. Destroyed."

Albus looked at her for a couple long moments, frowning thoughtfully. When he spoke, his words were measured. "Do you think that's it? Why you're so jumpy all the time, I mean. Is the locket giving off some sort of dark magic that you can sense?"

Lily was again caught off guard. Her brother, she decided, was a lot cleverer than she gave him credit for. The idea made a lot of sense. And yet... "It's not powerful enough to follow me at such far distances," she said glumly. "I'm not around Scorpius enough for it to be affecting me that much."

Albus refused to be beat. "But say that you were-"

"Then I would also add that Scorpius got the locket at Christmas," Lily interrupted. "I've been struggling with whatever this is since the beginning of term, ever since I was hit with that bludger. It doesn't work out." Her brother's face fell.

"Well, you can't rule out the fact that it could be something giving off dark magic affecting you," he said grudgingly. Lily sighed.

"I can't really rule out anything at this point." She twirled her cup absently, watching it make circles of water on the wood. "Besides, I don't have time to worry about me. I have to worry about Lucy."

"Lucy?" Albus echoed. His eyebrows knit together. "Why are you worrying about Lucy?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"Typical boy behavior," she said to no one in particular. "Al, have you been watching her lately? She's always gone, and all of her excuses are the same. I'm worried she's either losing her mind, or she's seeing someone."

This seemed like a foreign idea to Albus. He scrunched up his eyes. "Lucy couldn't be seeing someone," he said in disbelief. "She's... well, she's _Lucy_." Lily felt another flash of irritation go through her, but she quickly quashed it.

"Of course she could be seeing someone," she said firmly. "Lucy's gorgeous, and she's smart. It's a wonder half the boys in Hogwarts aren't all over her." Albus looked troubled, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. Lily figured he was so absorbed in protecting her and Roxanne from any boys that he had never even spared a moment to think about Lucy being involved with someone.

"Are you sure she keeps sneaking away?" he asked doubtfully. "I've never noticed anything."

Lily snorted. "Let's see." She held up a hand, ticking off fingers as she went. "First there was the hospital when I was injured, after the match-"

Albus interrupted her almost immediately. "She was mailing a letter to Mum and Dad for us."

"No, she wasn't," Lily said, undeterred. "James told me that he had to tell Mum and Dad almost a week later, because no one ever told them. That's when I started to figure it out. And then Lucy disappeared during the Christmas party, and on the train." Two more fingers went down. "She said she went to get snacks, but when she came back, she never had any."

Albus frowned. "You're making this out to be more than it is, Lils. She probably just-"

"When Scorpius was questioned with Veritaserum!" Lily said triumphantly. "Do you think she would have missed that, Al? Something's going on." She sat back in her seat, crossing her arms in vindication. Albus hesitated.

"Alright, so maybe she's seeing someone. That hardly merits thinking about over the fact that someone is blatantly attacking you, or that you're not sleeping right." He leaned forward, and for the first time, Lily could see that _he_ wasn't sleeping well either. Yellow and purple smudges made artwork beneath his eyes, and again she swallowed her guilt.

"Maybe I'm just crazy," she said hopefully. "We can get mum to take me to St. Mungo's, and they'll make me take some potion that smells really bad, and then things can just go back to the way things were."

Albus gave her a sad smile. "But then the press wold find out, and we'd be in an even bigger mess." His words were harsh, though his tone of voice was gentle, as if he was comforting a small child. Lily felt suddenly tired, as if the conversation had begun to weigh heavily on her. She rubbed at her temples.

"Can we go soon?" she asked pleadingly. "I think I need to lie down for a while." Albus was immediately on his feet, throwing down a couple sickles on the table. He held out a hand to haul her to her feet, and she accepted gratefully. Lily leaned into him, allowing him to lead her to the door as if they were young again, and he was her protector.

"Come on," Albus said, wrapping a bracing arm around her waist. "Let's go back to the castle."

o.O.o

_A/N: Yes, there was a kiss. A very passionate, angst-y kiss filled with a lot of different things! I hope that you all enjoyed reading as much as I did writing, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on _The Kiss.

_So... please review!_


	19. Into Shadows

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!_

_A/N: So I'm going to use school work as my excuse for not posting in awhile, and I'm sticking to it. It's crazy how much teachers enjoy ruining any chance at a social life. But anyways, thank-you all for waiting patiently. I hope this doesn't disappoint!_

o.O.o

"Oh, you have got to be joking me."

Lily threw down her copy of the prophet with a bang, ignoring the splotches of pumpkin juice that flew from her cup. She glared at the black and white print. A fuzzy picture of her and Albus leaving the pub stared back at her, the Lily in the photo leaning heavily on the taller figure. The headline read _The Girl Who Drank Too Much._ Further down the breakfast table, Lucy shot her a sympathetic look.

"It's not that bad, Lily," she said kindly. "They've done worse." Roxanne snorted.

"That's right," she prompted, rolling her eyes. "Make Lily feel better by reminding her of all the times they've slammed her just as hard. Soon enough, she'll be a ray of sunshine." She frowned, looking down at her plate. "Hugo, do you mind putting your elbow somewhere that's not my sausages? Thanks." Hugo absently retracted his elbow, which was now covered in sticky syrup. He leaned forward to look at the article again.

"I don't know, Lilsy." He shook his head, and she could tell from his expression that he was about to be blunt. It was the same one he wore as a Captain. "This one's bad. Possibly the worst one yet."

Lily laughed, though there was no humor in it. "You have to admit, the wording is beautiful." She picked up the newspaper, clearing her throat before beginning to read aloud. "_Lily Potter, daughter of the well-known Harry Potter, was spotted leaving her second pub in four months. Sources say that she was on her third Firewhiskey when her older brother Albus showed up, looking none too pleased to see his underaged sister drinking. A screaming match was shortly started-_ oh, honestly." Lily threw down the paper, shaking her head in disgust. "I would never scream in public. Cursing someone takes a lot less effort."

"There's also the part where you drank three firewhiskeys," Hugo mused. "I've never seen you hold more than one before." Lily sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Mum and Dad are going to kill me," she announced, groaning. "They're going to kill me, and then sell my body to the prophet to use for exclusive photos. Merlin, they're probably going to get the wrong type of flowers for the funeral, and-"

"-dress you up in pink so that your hair forever clashes with your outfit?" Roxanne suggested, buttering her toast. There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Don't worry, Lils. I'll make sure they choose gold or green." Lily put her head in her hands.

"They're actually going to murder me," she said, her voice muffled. "If they see that article, they'll believe it. With the way I've been acting, and after I shouted at my mum during the holidays... I'll be lucky if James takes my side."

Immediately, a hand began to stroke her hair methodically. She could tell from the tiny size that it was Lucy. "Of course they'll believe you, Lily. Aunt Ginny went on and on in her last letter about how proud they were of you for playing the match after what happened. They love you."

Lily's head shot up, and she turned to look at Lucy curiously. "You owled my mum?" She couldn't keep a small amount of hurt from leaking into her voice. As ridiculous as it was, she had expected all of her cousin's to adopt a very freezing attitude toward her mother after their blow-out. Lucy, as if sensing her thoughts, adopted a guilty expression.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," she said quickly. "I don't want to take sides."

"It's fine." Lily waved her off impatiently, although she still felt stung. _My emotions_, she decided, _are completely out of whack_. Lucy still looked as if she had said something she wasn't supposed to.

"I really am sorry," she offered. "Honestly, Lily, if I hadn't needed-" Lucy cut off, her eyes widening as if she had almost said too much. Lily narrowed her eyes.

"What were you owling my mum about?" she asked. The prophet lay beside her on the table, forgotten. Lucy appeared to hesitate, but thought better of it and spoke.

"I was doing some research on possessions," she said nonchalantly. "And your mum was possessed in her first year, right? I just thought it would be good to have a first hand account." Lily noticed that she avoided saying what she was doing the research for, but decided not to comment. Roxanne gave Lily a strange look.

"Hey." Rox frowned, peering closely at the collar of her robes. "What's that thing on your neck? It looks sort of like-" She cut off, her eyes widening. "Lily Potter, do you have a _hickey_?"

Lily's hand immediately flew to her neck. And yes, there it was, sitting there like a symbol of her own wrong doing. She felt heat rise to her cheeks, and she glanced around desperately. "Roxanne! Shut-_up_."

Now Hugo was leaning in as well, trying to see around her hands. "It's definitely a hickey," he noted darkly. "I swear, I'll kill him. Who was it, Lily?"

Just the question she had dreaded. Lily felt herself color further. "It's no one!" she squeaked, cringing at how high her voice had become. "I- it was a door, actually. I walked into a door."

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "And it chewed on you for a while?" Her tone was gleeful. "Oh, Merlin, wait until Al hears about this-"

"No!" Lily launched herself forward, clinging onto Roxanne's hand like a life raft. "You _cannot_ tell Al, do you understand? He would tell my parents, and then they would never leave me alone. Ever." She left out the part where if Roxanne was to tell Albus, Scorpius would certainly hear. And then things would grow more awkward than they had already become. Especially since he might be forced to tell Al that he was the one to give it to her.

Roxanne still looked as if Christmas had come early. "I can't believe this! If I'm being completely honest, I thought you might die a virgin. Turns out that you're getting more action than the rest of us."

Lily wasn't sure if she should be grateful or insulted. She settled for sticking her tongue out, before returning to her breakfast calmly. Hugo, however, was anything but calm.

"I can't believe I let this happen," he muttered, shaking his head. "I'm your cousin, and your captain, and most importantly your best friend!" He turned his wounded eyes on Lily, releasing their full power. "Don't you see? It's my job to _protect_ you."

For a moment, Lily actually felt a little sorry for him. Then she pulled herself together. "Jeez, Hugo. I kissed a guy, not entered a drug war."

"You admit it!" Roxanne announced, doing a little dance. "I knew it! Lily Potter is getting _action_!" She continued her little dance as Lily sunk low in her chair, wishing she could just sink into the earth as well and disappear. Lucy, who had been quiet through her two cousin's pestering, finally spoke.

"Well, I think it's sweet," she offered, poking at a bit of fried egg. "Lily obviously really likes him, and that's good enough for me." Lucy beamed at her, as if Lily had just announced she was engaged. Hugo looked at her incredulously.

"It's _sweet_?" he echoed, shaking his head. "I'm going to kick his ass from here to Surrey."

"I'm afraid there's no kicking positions in quidditch," a familiar voice drawled. "You're going to have to join a muggle football team, Weasley. Sorry to disappoint."

Perfect. Exactly who she didn't want to see.

Hugo turned around, oblivious to Lily's inner turmoil. "We weren't talking about quidditch, Malfoy. In fact, we weren't talking about anything to do with you, so why don't you turn back around and run along with your little Slytherin friends?" His tone was cool, almost professional. Scorpius smirked.

"I don't think I will," he decided. To Lily's utmost horror, he took the seat next to her, scooting casually between Lucy and herself. "I find it fascinating to watch you Gryffindors interact. It's so delightfully infuriating."

Hugo scowled. "No way are we telling you. You can sit here all day, but it is none of your-"

"Lily has a hickey," Roxanne said coolly. "On her neck, actually. So can you leave now?" She looked hopeful, as if he might actually make good on his promise.

Scorpius, for his part, looked as if someone had sucker punched him in the face. "I- a hickey?" He turned toward Lily, meeting her eyes for the first time. "On your neck?"

"That would be what Roxanne said, yes," Lily said calmly, although she felt as if she might explode at any moment. _Please don't tell them_, _please don't tell them, please don't tell them..._

"Just thought I'd drive the point home." He shrugged, turning away, although Lily could see that he was visibly shaken. "It's not every day a _Gryffindor_ gets a hickey."

"Someone has a hickey?"

And just like that, Lily felt herself panicking again. Albus, in his innocent, stumble-upon-the-situation, sort of way was glancing at them all curiously. "Who is it?"

Before anyone could get another word in, Lily cleared her throat. "Me," she said shortly. "I have the hickey."

This was met with a ringing silence. She could hear the chatter of the Great Hall distantly, almost as if it was coming from the far side of a tunnel. Most of her attention was fixed firmly on her brother's face. He looked confused at first, then angry, then confused again. His face finally settled on an alarming shade of red.

"_This_ is why you're not sleeping well?" he demanded, losing his head completely. "There's a _guy_? Who is he? I swear, I'll kick his ass from here to Surrey."

"Exactly what I said!" Hugo announced, looking quite pleased with himself. Lily shot him a glare before turning back to Al.

"You know perfectly well that my hickey has nothing to do with my sleeping patterns," she said waspishly, waving her fork at him accusingly. "And you'll stay out of this if you know what's good for you, Albus Potter."

"You're having trouble sleeping?" Lily turned to see Scorpius staring at her, an odd expression on his face. "You never mentioned that."

"Because we don't _talk_," Lily stressed, trying to keep the panic in her tone to a minimum. "Because you and I are definitely not friends, and because we _never_ see each other. Especially within the last week." She gave him a desperate look, praying that he would understand. But his eyes were almost... angry?

"It's because of the locket, isn't it?" he demanded. His hand sitting on the table clenched into a fist. Lily hesitated.

"Scorpius, I don't think-"

"But that's partly why," he insisted. "It's been giving you hell, and you can't sleep at night, and you didn't mention it." He looked stunned by the last bit, as if she had decided not to tell him that there were life vests aboard a sinking ship. She hesitated.

"Well, I sort of did tell you." Her voice was meek, even to her own ears. "I tried to tell you, at least." She may as well have hit him across the face. Scorpius's expression clouded over with self-loathing, and she hastened to add, "But now I don't even think it's dangerous. Not really."

There was silence for a moment as everyone digested their heated words. Then, without further prompting, Scorpius was on his feet. "I'm going to Knockturn Alley."

"_What_?" Lily bit her lip, shaking the red curls out of her eyes. "Stop it. Of course you're not going." Roxanne looked similarly dumbfounded.

"Why in Merlin's name would you want to go there, Malfoy?" She squinted at him suspiciously, as if he had just admitted that he was illegally marketing Mugwart powder. Scorpius's face was grim when he spoke.

"If you want advice about something shady..." He shrugged. "Go to a shady place."

"Not right now!" Al looked stricken. "We're in the middle of breakfast, Scorpius! You can't just fly all the way to Diagon Alley."

"Well, I wouldn't." Scorpius gave him a look, as if he was the crazy one for suggesting it. "I would fly to the edge of the grounds and then _apparate_ to Diagon Alley."

"No one's going anywhere," Lily said firmly. Al crossed his arms, settling back in his seat as if the matter had been decided. Scorpius's expression was black.

"I never said that you had a say in the matter, Potter-"

"I said nobody's going anywhere," Lily said decidedly. Taking a quick breath, she added, "At least, not without me."

"_What_?" Hugo looked furious. "Lily! You can't just galavant off into Knockturn Alley!"

"For once, I'm inclined to agree with Weasel King." Scorpius studied her. The flush on his cheeks had faded, and he looked cool and collected. "You're not going anywhere."

"Have you all forgot the part where this whole thing was my idea?" Lily demanded. She glared at Hugo, who had opened his mouth to speak. "Hugo, I swear if you say anything about it being your job to protect me, I'll put you out of commission for three months." He hesitated, then quickly closed it. Lily smiled. "Good."

"No way am I taking a Potter into Knockturn Alley," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "Do you know all the things that could go wrong with that plan? With you along, there'll be press lurking at every corner."

Sudden irritation surged in her gut. "That's not fair-"

"It's better if you leave the planning to the Slytherin's, love." His smile was chilly. Lily bristled at the use of his affectionate title.

"Didn't you once say that I had the mind of a Slytherin?" she asked coolly. "I can sense dark magic, Scorpius. You're going to need me there."

She saw him hesitate for a fraction of a second. His gaze slid to Al, who to Lily's surprise, nodded briefly. Scorpius's grey eyes were calculating when he looked back at her. "Fine. We leave tonight." The ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "I hope you're not scared of the dark, Lily."

"I'm only scared of what's in it," she said measuredly, meeting his eyes. And to her immense satisfaction, he looked away first.

o.O.o

Knockturn Alley was everything Lily imagined it would be.

Layers of black dirt caked the decaying cobblestone, topped by random bits of rubbish and litter. The red eyes of hungry cats and mice stared back at them, unnerving in the dark. The only light came from old oil lamps hung crookedly over their heads. Lily shivered, pressing closer toward Scorpius in the narrow alleyway. He shot her a surprised look.

"You alright, Potter?"

She nodded. "Fine. It's just..." Lily bit her lip, ignoring the way a rat's eyes seemed to follow her. "It's not what I was expecting. Or, it was," she corrected herself. "But I didn't realize how I would feel."

His blue eyes were almost luminous in the darkness. "And how do you feel?"

"Cold." Lily winced, stumbling a little on the uneven payment. "Empty. Hollow. There's so much dark magic, pressing in on me..." She trailed off, shrugging. "Sorry. I told you that I could handle this."

For a moment, when he looked at her, it was if he was thinking of a million things to say at once. There was disbelief, and empathy, and a hundred other emotions that Lily couldn't begin to guess. Then it was gone. "Don't apologize unless you mean it."

"But I do." She fell into step beside him, trying to shake the chills crawling up the back of her neck. "I don't hear you complaining, and you have just as much right as I do."

That made him laugh. "Don't be an idiot, Lily," Scorpius said tiredly. "You think that I don't know that it's you they're after? Of course I know." He made a noise, somewhere between a sigh and a groan of frustration. "You judge yourself way too harshly. If only you could see-" Scorpius hesitated, though his stride never broke. "I wish you could see the type of nerve you have."

"It comes with being a Gryffindor," Lily said automatically, though an odd swooping sensation went through her stomach. Scorpius frowned.

"No, it comes with being you." He faced the front again, though it felt to Lily as if he was more aware of her than ever. "Trust me when I say that most Gryffindor's would never venture into Knockturn Alley at night, especially with a Slytherin." There was a faint note of bitterness that Lily guessed wasn't intentional. She sped up as they took a sharp right, though she still had no idea where they were going.

"Well, most Slytherin's wouldn't be worried about how a locket was affecting me."

"I'm not most Slytherin's," he said grimly. She could barely see him swallow in the poor lighting. "Besides, I always worry about you."

It was such an unexpected thing for him to say that Lily almost fell over. She managed to stay upright by bracing herself against a wall, immediately pulling back when she felt her hand connect with something slimy. Examining it, she could make out a faint black tar substance.

"Goblin blood," Scorpius said, watching her. Lily yelped, wiping the rest of it on her shirt. Scorpius smiled sharply. "We're getting close."

"To what exactly?" Lily demanded, still staring at her hand in disgust. "A vampire layer?"

"Just a friend of my father's," Scorpius said casually, stopping to brush the cobwebs out of the way before Lily hit them. "Well, a business partner. I'm pretty sure my father hates him."

"Sounds promising," Lily muttered. She couldn't help but think that if someone like Draco Malfoy could despise someone, this business associate was going to be no friend of her's. Scorpius seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Let me do most of the talking, alright?" he said, pausing as they stopped outside a black door, built roughly into the side of the brick wall. "Don't draw attention to yourself unless you have to."

Lily nodded, although some part of her wanted desperately to tell him exactly what she thought of not drawing attention. Scorpius appeared to recognize that and almost smiled. "After you," he offered, pushing the door open. Lily shot him a lingering look before stepping into the tiny shop.

It was as dark as the alley way had been, though the light came from only one grimy lamp swinging overhead. Shelves lined the three walls, towering up to the ceiling, and boxes and boxes were stacked in no apparent order. Labels such as _Unicorn Blood_ and _Centaur Bone_ jumped out at her, making her flinch. A crate of some lethal-looking silvery powder sat innocently on her left, and she leaned forward, trying to get a better look. Immediately, a warm hand was on her back.

"Possession powder," Scorpius murmured grimly in her ear, making her jump. "Don't get too close to anything in here, alright? Especially not that stuff. It might be the most dangerous thing in here."

Lily frowned at the seemingly harmless powder. "But why-"

"Is tha' Scorpius _Malfoy_?"

They both turned abruptly, Scorpius with a cool business face, and Lily feeling like she was about to throw up. A man in his mid-fifties stood behind a counter edge, a bottle of what looked suspiciously like a bottle of brandy clutched in his paw. His greasy hair hung in chunks down to almost his chin, and his eyes had a sunken, skeletal look. "I don' believe it. Haven't seen you since you were just a li'l one, eh?"

Scorpius stiffened. "Always a pleasure, Anguis." Lily could tell from his face that it was anything but, though he kept his expression surprisingly neutral. Anguis smiled, revealing a set of sharp teeth.

"So charming. Jus' like your father." His gaze slid past Scorpius, landing on Lily. An odd light entered his eyes, and when he smiled, it looked predatory. "And who's this pretty li'l lady?"

Lily automatically shrunk back. _Don't draw attention,_ she reminded herself. _Don't draw attention, don't draw attention_... "I'm-"

"She's my fiancee."

In one fluid motion, Scorpius wrapped his arm around her hips, drawing her into him. Lily was so surprised that she allowed him to angle his body slightly in front of her's, so that their embrace was more tangled. She could feel his heart beating in his chest, though his eyes were fixed on Anguis. "How rude of me not to make introductions. Anguis, this is Violet. Violet, Anguis."

Violet; another flower name_._ Lily could have groaned. She hoped that Scorpius, at least, was enjoying himself. Anguis took a swig of the bottle before surveying her, his gaze running from the tips of her toes all the way to her forehead. Lily glared at him defiantly, and was even more unnerved when he winked at her.

"I like this one," he said to no one in particular, moving around the counter so that they were almost face to face. "Red 'air, nice body... Violet, if you e'er get sick of li'l Malfoy here, you're always welcome in my house." Scorpius, who looked like he had very much resented being referred to as 'little Malfoy' opened his mouth to speak, but Lily got there first.

"No, thank-you." She was surprised to hear how cold her own voice had become. It was hard, like ice. "I think Scorpius has more than enough patience to deal with me all on his own." And with that, she reached up on her tip-toes, kissing him briefly on the cheek. Scorpius's grip tightened on her, but his expression didn't change.

"Are you going to hit on my fiancee all evening? Because I can come back later." The message was clear in his tone; _help us now, or we walk_. Anguis shrugged, though his eyes were still sharp.

"Depends wha' you need." He leaned casually against the counter, the bottle of brandy making a faint clinking sound as he knocked it against the wood. "If it s'more... delicate, that is. Not fit for a lady's eyes." Again, his gaze went to Lily, and she worked hard to remain impassive. Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"Anything you say to me can be said in front of Violet as well." He looked torn for a moment, but eventually let her go, choosing to move so that he and Anguis were standing directly beside one another. Lily noticed that he was still careful to shield her from Anguis's probing eyes. "I need answers about a dark artifact. One that was possibly connected with the first war."

That peeked his interest. Anguis set down the brandy bottle, crossing his arms. "The Ministry burned everything and anything to do with the firs' war, kid. Ain't nothing left for you to show me."

Scorpius's face was uncharacteristically sober. "Then I'm sure you understand the rarity of the object. And exactly why this meeting must be under strict confidence."

"Alrigh'." Anguis nodded, the greasy locks swaying around his face in a hypnotic motion. "Say I help you. What's innit for me?"

To his credit, Scorpius didn't hesitate a moment. "Gold," he said shortly. "I'm sure you remember how generous my father was?" It didn't really sound like a question at all to Lily, and Anguis didn't take it as one. He simply held out his hand.

"Let's see then."

Scorpius paused only a moment before reaching down the front of his robes, drawing out the locket. Lily couldn't help but shiver. Even surrounded by dark magic, she could still feel rays of it streaming off of the object. Anguis frowned, turning it over in his hand.

"Looks worthless t' me," he said slowly. "Not much to see here. Still, for old time's sake, I'd buy it off of ya for a reasonable price."

Lily wasn't sure what surprised her more. Anguis using a long word such as 'reasonable' or Scorpius's face. He had immediately smiled, though his entire body was tense.

"Don't try that with me, Anguis." His voice was soft, though there was a steely tone underneath it that made Lily shrink back. "I can see it all over your face. It's worth something."

Anguis held his poker face for only a moment before breaking into a sharp, toothy grin as well. "You don' even know what you've stumbled upon, eh kid?" He shook his head, bringing up the locket so that it was dangling in front of Scorpius's face. "This here, it's the Dark Lord's original locket, ain't it? This is priceless. Invaluable."

Scorpius looked torn between asking for an explanation and keeping his tough, know-it-all exterior. Lily, however, was under no such qualms.

"Who's the Dark Lord?" she asked curiously, stepping forward until she too, had entered the little circle. "And what does he have to do with the first war?" Scorpius shot her a disapproving look, but thankfully didn't comment on her joining the conversation. Anguis raised one eyebrow.

"S'not so much what he had to do with the first war, li'l lady," he said, his voice indulging. "The Dark Lord was the entire _reason_ for the first war. And righ' here, you gotta piece of his soul. Or wha' used to be his soul, anyway."

Lily exchanged a quick look with Scorpius. His eyes were wide, mirroring her own. _Horcrux,_ she thought. _Bingo_.

"Well, can it do anything?" Scorpius had adopted the same haughty tone again, his eyes raking the locket in disgust. "I was told it was a Malfoy family heirloom. But, if it's no use to me..." He shrugged. "I might just pack it up again. No need to get it further inspected."

The reaction was exactly what they had been hoping for. Anguis tightened his grasp, his small eyes darting between the two of them nervously. He licked his lips. "Malfoy heirloom, eh?" His greedy gaze was fixed directly on the locket. "Can't say tha' I'm all that surprised. Your old man - Lucius, tha' is, not Draco - was close to the Dark Lord, as I'm sure you know. Not tha' surprising that the locket went to him."

"But can it _do_ anything?" Scorpius kept his tone unbelievably neutral, though Lily could tell he was beginning to grow agitated. "Is it dangerous?"

Anguis shrugged. "It was once. Probably not anymore."

Lily didn't realize how relieved she would feel until Anguis said the words. She felt her entire body relax, and a sigh of pressure released escaped her. Anguis, however, wasn't done speaking.

"That was all thanks to Harry sodding Potter, o' course," he continued, though his words were bitter. "Came swooping in to save the day, didn' he? Killed the Dark Lord."

Lily felt suddenly numb, as if the entire world had started spinning. She was dimly aware of Scorpius putting a bracing hand on her shoulder. "Harry Potter? He was the one who ended the first war?"

Anguis looked at him darkly. "Surprised you didn't know. Though' you'd have seen that pensieve that old Lucius likes to keep around. Got all them memories of the first war." He picked up his bottle of brandy, taking another hearty swig. "Yeah, Harry Potter an' his gang of mudbloods and blood traitors killed the Dark Lord, anyways. The Weasel brats and that girl with hair like steel wool."

The puzzle pieces were immediately beginning to click in Lily's mind. Hugo had said the list had been in his mother's writing, which meant that Hermione had known about the horcruxes and the locket. And from what Anguis was saying, it sounded a lot like she had helped her father destroy them.

"But that doesn't change the fact that the locket is completely ineffective," Scorpius was saying icily. "Or, you say it is. But if it was completely dead, it wouldn't be giving off any dark magic at all." Lily jerked herself back to the conversation just in time to hear Anguis's response.

"It is dead." His eyes darted around the shop, almost checking that no one was listening before leaning in. "Or, it is for now."

Ice cold shocks ran down Lily's back. "What do you mean?" she blurted, before she could stop herself. "The Dark Lord's coming back?"

Anguis actually laughed at that, though it helped to ease none of Lily's nerves. "If only we could, li'l lady. But the Dark Lord's long gone." He paused, taking a thoughtful sip of his brandy. "Tha' said, his forces never really disappeared, didn't they?" He waited a moment to let his word's sink in. Surprisingly, Scorpius got it first.

"They're planning an uprisal." Scorpius's expression was grim. "When?"

Anguis frowned. "That ain't information I'll be giving out for free, kid." He took another swig before setting the brandy bottle back down on the counter. "I'mma need a guarantee. A promise tha' you ain't scamming me."

Scorpius thought for a moment. The problem, Lily thought anxiously, was that they actually were trying to scam him. And Scorpius didn't like to lie. Which was why she felt like hitting him when he spoke.

"My life," he said quietly. "I swear it on my life." Correction, Lily was going to kill him. Anguis gave them both a long, lazy smile.

"I don' think so, kid." He crossed his arms. "You don' value your own life anymore than you do a flobberworm's. I want a guarantee." His eyes slid over to Lily. "On _her_ life."

Lily could have sighed in relief. If Scorpius was able to swear on his life, he would certainly have no issues about doing the same on her's. However, when she looked over, Scorpius appeared torn.

She cleared her throat, too startled to do much else. "Scorpius," she prompted. "Tell the man what he wants to hear." If she could have stepped on his foot without Anguis seeing, she would have. Scorpius looked over at her, and Lily was stunned to see actual anguish in his eyes.

"I can't-"

It turned out that whatever he could or couldn't do was irrelevant. The moment of hesitation had cost them.

"Say." Anguis peered closely at Lily's face, almost as if he hadn't really noticed her before. "You look awfully familiar, don' cha? Where have I seen you before?"

Lily, for her part, was proud at her ability to look clueless. "I'm not sure. Maybe we've seen each other before? I come here a lot with Scorpius on business." There. She figured that was a plausible enough lie. As the fiancee of a Malfoy, Lily had no doubt that she was expected to tail him almost everywhere. Anguis, however, looked more suspicious than ever. He turned toward Scorpius with a scowl.

"I though' you hadn' been down here since you was little."

Shit.

Lily had forgotten that part.

Scorpius swallowed. "You haven't seen me since I was little," he corrected him. "I come down here often with my father, though rarely to these parts."

Anguis's entire face transformed. He was no longer suspicious, Lily thought fearfully, he _knew_. "No, you haven'," he growled. "You think I'm stupid? I've heard the rumors. Your daddy's cut you off, hadn't he? He don' speak to you no more."

Scorpius, apparently, hadn't been expecting that part to have already gotten around. Unfortunately, the surprise showed on his face. "I-"

"And you." Anguis whipped around, breathing down on Lily's face instead. His breath stunk of brandy and old cigarettes. "I know where I've seen _you_ before. On them magazines, featuring Harry Potter's _daughter_." His voice was wild, almost panicked. Lily took an automatic step back.

"Sir, I think there's been a mistake-"

"_No_!" he roared. Lily felt something hot and red streak by her face, missing her by inches. _Magic_, she thought dizzily. _He's attacking us_.

And just like that, her body reacted instinctively. She ducked, rolling beneath a crate of boxes as yet another one flew above her head. This time, it was green. A Killing Curse. Lily managed to get an exploding curse over her shoulder and heard the bottle of brandy shatter.

She could hear Scorpius furious growl as he rose from behind another nearby pile of boxes to her left, shooting a spell back. Immediately, a crate near Anguis's head erupted in flame, fueled by the broken alcohol bottle. Anguis let out a roar of anger, retaliating by dissolving the boxes in front of them until only piles of silvery powder remained. Scorpius immediately froze.

"Don't move!" he yelled at Lily, still expertly shooting curses at the enraged man. "That's the possession powder! Don't touch it, no matter what, alright?"

Lily nodded, darting around the piles of it until she was standing at Scorpius's side, shooting curse after curse at Anguis. The shop keeper roared, turning his wand on Lily, and she froze, unable to stop the curse, a mere moment away from hitting her chest-

Scorpius dove.

The curse hit him directly in the chest, throwing him against the wall. He hit the brick with blinding force, crumpling to the ground. His eyes were closed, and even from this far away, Lily could see blood pooling by his head. She didn't even recognize the curse, so she couldn't assess injuries.

_He might be dead_. The words hit her before she could stop them, making her entire body go numb. _He might be dead, and it's all your fault._ _You should have stayed back, let him handle the fight. But you didn't. And he could be dead. _It was enough to make her feel disoriented and empty. Anguis, who had apparently decided that Scorpius was not dead, raised his wand again, this time pointing directly at Scorpius.

"Avada Keda-"

"_Expelliarmus_!"

The spell was like a gigantic whirlwind, ripping what felt like the very bones in her arms. It was the strongest spell she had ever used, a product of all of her fear and desperation and hope in that very word. She could physically feel the magic draining her as it collided with Anguis, throwing him into the counter. He collided with a loud crack, throwing his neck back at an awkward angle. When he fell to the ground, his entire body was twisted. And in that moment, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Lily knew something.

She had killed a man.

o.O.o

_A/N: _Well, a lot certainly happened in that chapter. Thoughts? Ideas? Predictions?

Extra bonus points if you can tell me what Anguis translates to!


	20. Fixing What Is Broken

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _Wow! The amount of reviews and PM's I got on that last chapter was fantastic! Thank-you for all of your awesome thoughts and your amazing patience. And a big thank-you to LiveLaughLove13 for the brilliant book cover; everyone should check out her work! So now that that's done with, please enjoy :)

o.O.o

If she was completely honest with herself, Lily didn't remember much of the ride back to Hogwarts.

Her brain was on automatic, her body following whatever motions needed to be done. By some miracle, Scorpius had been conscious enough to apparate them back to the castle, and now the rest was on her. Her hands were chapped and covered in blood by the time she had Scorpius on the broom, and she clutched his robes tightly as they flew.

It was Lucy who opened the window to let them into the dorm room, just as they had planned. Her expression was one of intense relief.

"Lily! Oh, thank Merlin." She threw the window open father, squinting to see them in the darkness. "We were so worried! Hugo's been pacing around for hours now, and Rox..." She trailed off, her eyes widening as she took in their appearances. "Good god. Is that _blood_?"

"Not mine," Lily whispered. She shook her head. "Only my hair is red, nothing else. Flames of a fire, that's what my dad always said. James used to call it sunrise. Did you know that?" Her tongue felt numb, heavy. Lucy looked taken aback.

"Lily, are you alright? What happened?"

Her head felt dizzy. Lucy's face had started to spin. "I could tell you a lie, or I could tell you the truth. But which would you rather hear?" Lily's voice sounded odd even to her own ears, almost as if it was coming from the other end of a tunnel. Lucy looked truly frightened now.

"You're not making any sense."

Lily let out a humourless laugh. "But what is sense, really? It can be defined by so many things, so many people. Do we each have our own sense, or is it a common sense that keeps us from nonsense?"

"You're scaring me, Lily," Lucy said in a small voice. Her eyes were large with fear. "Come to the window, alright? I need to look at Scorpius. He doesn't look well."

"I'm shaking," Lily whispered. It was true; she could feel the tremors going through her. "It's like snakes, Luce, all over my body. I'm frozen. I can't move." She turned her frightened gaze on her cousin, who stared back with equally alarmed eyes. She managed, with great difficulty it appeared, a small smile of reassurance.

"Then come here so that I can help you with the snakes."

Her grey eyes were earnest. Lily drew a shaky breath, steeling herself. "Okay," she murmured. Another deep breath. "Alright." She guided the broom forward, slowing to a gentle halt right before the window. The light flooded in, illuminating their ragged appearances. Lucy's hand went to her mouth.

"Oh, my god." Her eyes were wide and staring. "Oh, my god." She turned around, yelling farther into their dorm room. "Roxanne! Roxanne, I need you!"

She was almost immediately joined by a second dark-haired head. Roxanne's expression was grim as she surveyed the two of them. "Damn," she muttered, shaking her head. "I knew it. Let's get them inside."

Lily was dimly aware of being hauled through the window, her broom ripped out of her frozen grasp. Lucy was murmuring nonsensical things as she tried to coax Lily toward a bed, but she refused to be moved.

"I can't leave him!" she cried desperately, clinging on to Scorpius's shirt. His eyes were closed, and his fair blonde hair was soaked in his own blood. "He needs me!"

Lucy hesitated. "Lily, you need to help yourself first. You're in no shape to help him right now. Look at you!" She gestured presumably to where Lily could feel the start of bruises and cuts, as well as what felt like a nasty concussion. She shook her head, tightening her grasp.

"I won't leave him."

"You're not helping him by staying!" Roxanne said angrily. Her eyes softened as she looked between the two of them, though her tone was still hard. "You're shaking all over the place, and that could be moving his injuries."

"I'm shaking?" Lily hadn't realized that she was still shivering, although she could see now that her fingers were trembling. Roxanne nodded.

"Yes. You've gone into shock."

"Shock," Lily echoed. It seemed to fit quite nicely, and she couldn't remember why she hadn't thought of it earlier. "I'm in shock."

Roxanne turned to give Lucy a forceful look. "Go get Al and Rose, and tell Hugo to come up here on your way out. It doesn't look good."

"But Hugo can't heal anyone," Lily said, frowning. "He doesn't know how."

Roxanne's voice was surprisingly patient. "Yes, but I figured that you'd want him here. To help you."

This only puzzled her further. "I'm alright though. It's Scorpius-" Her breath caught, and she tried again. "Scorpius needs a Healer, and Hugo isn't one."

Roxanne appeared to be becoming slowly more frustrated. "Unfortunately, our selection of Healers is limited to just about no one right now. We'll have Rose take a look at him, and then she can ultimately make the call about whether we go to Pomfrey."

"We need a Healer," Lily insisted, directing her words toward Lucy. Roxanne however, not surprisingly, was the one to answer.

"Aren't you listening to anything I'm saying?" she demanded, looking very much like she would love to shake Lily's shoulders right now. "We don't have any Healers!"

"Yes, we do." Lily frowned, puzzled as to why Roxanne was yelling. "Talc's a Healer."

There was a moment of pause as Roxanne merely stared at her, mouthing things that Lily couldn't make out. Then she shook her head, dark braids flying. "You heard the girl, Luce." She grimaced. "Tell Al to bring Talc if he can. And tell Al to mention to him that Lily's injured as well. That should make him come."

Lucy nodded gravely. "I'll be back quick." She shut the door after her, leaving only the three of them in the room. Lily was alarmed to hear that Scorpius's breathing had switched to short, ragged gasps. She whimpered, pulling him closer. Roxanne was studying both of them with an odd expression.

"I don't suppose you would consider letting him go for a moment while I checked the extent of his injuries?" No response. Lily's tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of her mouth, and she buried her face in his shirt. Roxanne sighed. "Right. I figured as much."

"It was a purple spell," Lily said quietly, her words muffled by the shirt. Roxanne frowned, leaning forward.

"Pardon?"

"The spell. It was purple, like pure amethyst or old wine. Dense, but not thick." Her voice dropped, and she felt as if a knife was twisting in her gut. "Direct hit to the chest, throwing him into the wall. Unconscious." The last bit came out as sort of a choked gasp, the words catching in her throat. Roxanne frowned.

"Thank-you," she said carefully. "I know that was difficult for you to say. But I can take care of him now, alright? You go to the bathroom and clean yourself up. I'll tell you when the others get here."

There was something behind her words, a certain note, that Lily felt she should be suspicious by. As it was, she was really too tired to argue, and Roxanne had promised that she could fix him. Lily nodded gratefully.

"Alright," she whispered. "You can watch him, and I'll clean up, and when I get back, he'll be better."

Something flashed in her cousin's eyes. Pity? Sympathy? "I know he will, Lils."

Lily stumbled to the bathroom, turning the sink on with a hard jerk of her wrist. She stared at the girl in the mirror for a moment, hardly believing it to be herself. The girl staring back had dark, wild eyes, and her hair was a mess of red curls. There were scratches and bruises all over her face, contrasting sharply to her pale skin. Her lip was bleeding.

Without even thinking about it, Lily stuck her head underneath the sink, scrubbing desperately at her face. She wanted it off, all of it off. Any sign of this girl who was not her must be erased.

This girl was a murderer.

It had been the first time she allowed herself to think about it, and she felt her knees buckle. She grabbed hold of the counter edge with raw nails, supporting her weight. The girl in the mirror now had red, raw skin instead of the pale cuts.

"Where is she?" The sound of the door flying open caught her attention, and she heard someone stride into the room. The deep voice sounded panicked. "Rox, where is she?"

"Calm down, Hugo." Lily could practically picture Roxanne frowning. "She's in the bathroom. Now, if you want to help me with _Scorpius_-"

Almost immediately, the bathroom door flew open, revealing her cousin. Hugo's entire 6'3 frame was tense with worry, and his brown eyes were as wild as her own. There were bags under his eyes from a sleepless night. When he caught sight of her, his face relaxed notably.

"Lily."

Without another word, she threw herself at him, burying her face in his robe. Hugo caught her firmly, drawing her into his circle of warmth. Lily drew a couple shaky breaths, clinging to him like a life raft. She was dimly aware of him murmuring comforting things into her hair. They stayed there for a moment, neither moving until Roxanne cleared her throat loudly.

"Sorry to interrupt this touching family bonding moment, but I sort of need some help in here, Hugo."

Lily let him go immediately, pushing past him until she was beside Roxanne. Nerves shot through her like bullets on rapid fire. "Is he alright? What's going on?"

"No, he's not _alright__**," **_Roxanne snapped irritably. It seemed her brief spurt of patience was over. "And neither are you! When I said I needed help, I meant that I needed someone who can actually think straight enough to form coherent sentences."

Lily bit her lip. "I want to help."

"Yes, you've expressed that opinion multiple times." Roxanne sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You really want to help?" Lily nodded earnestly. "You're on hand-holding duty, then. Go sit beside him and say reassuring things, or whatnot."

Lily didn't need to be told twice. Some faint part of her recognized that this was merely a scheme to get her out of the way, but after one glance at Scorpius's crumpled form, she didn't hesitate. She darted to his side, sitting directly by his head. Some of the numbness had faded, and a gnawing sense of guilt had found it's way into her gut.

_I did this_, she thought miserably. _My fault. All my fault_. Her gaze wandered over his figure. Scorpius looked almost peaceful in sleep, one hand thrown under his head to cushion in. His cheeks were pink from cold, and his blonde hair was tousled. Lily touched his forehead carefully and was alarmed to feel it burning up. She turned abruptly, ready to tell Rox, when she noticed that her cousin was already caught up in a discussion.

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" Roxanne snapped, her dark eyes blazing. "Don't you understand, Hugo? They were attacked, and Malfoy here did something heroic."

"Or he was the one that _attacked_ her," Hugo stressed, his voice rising in agitation. "It makes perfect sense!"

"Right." Roxanne snorted, crossing her arms. "Because Lily would obviously form an emotional attachment over someone who just tried to kill her."

Hugo looked horrified. "She does not have an emotional attachment to Malfoy."

"Have you seen her?" Roxanne demanded. "She's refusing to leave his side! I think the guilt has somehow magnified, and she feels responsible."

They both paused a moment, turning to look at her. Hugo's eyes softened when he noticed her watching them with a worried expression. He frowned as he examined her. "Your hair's all wet, Lilsy."

She shrugged. "That's because I stuck it under a sink." It made perfect sense to her, but seemed to only confuse him more.

"But-"

Their discussion was interrupted by a hard knock on the door. Both Hugo and Roxanne tensed, their hands going for their wands. The door swung open, allowing Lucy to slip inside. Her face was red from exertion

"They're here," she announced simply, stepping aside to allow Albus and Rose to pass through. Both wore panicked expressions identical to Hugo's when he first arrived.

"What's going on?" Rose demanded. Her face was pale and pinched, and her blue eyes were red from crying. "Lucy said- she said- Is Scorpius-"

"Is Lily alright?" Albus grabbed Roxanne's shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "What happened?"

Roxanne, who looked faintly annoyed at his iron grip, glared at him. "Calm down, Albus!" It was a sign of her irritation that she used his full name. "You're not helping anything by panicking."

This didn't help much. Her brother still looked frantic. "When did they come back? What's wrong?"

"Al." Lucy reached up, touching him lightly on the shoulder. He spun around to face her with wide eyes. She gave him a sad smile. "They're right over there. But be careful what you say, because Lily is quite..." She hesitated, searching for a good word. "Fragile."

Albus, who had apparently not noticed either of them beforehand, was by Lily's side in a moment. Rose was quick behind, already drawing her wand out.

"I'm going to need to examine both of you," she said shakily. She gave her wand an uncertain look. "Okay, I can do this. Let me see your forearm." Lily, who had not let go of Scorpius's hand the entire time, reluctantly gave Rose her arm.

"Hold on." Al had wedged himself between the two of them, facing Rose with a dark look. "Lily, don't give her your arm yet." She dropped it, relieved. Rose shot Al an equally black glare.

"What do you think you're doing? She needs treatment, Al! They both do!"

"I'm not saying that they don't." He crossed his arms. "But look at her, Rose! She's terrified. If you did something wrong - and I'm not saying that you will," he added, seeing her expression. "But say that you did. One little mistake might be enough to push her over the edge."

Rose's face was fierce. "Are you saying that I'm not capable of helping her?"

For a moment, Lily thought her brother might begin to yell. Then his expression softened and he sighed. "I don't know, Rosie. Do you think that you're capable?"

There was a tense pause. Rose bit her lip. "Yes. No. I don't know." She buried her face in her hands, and her back was shaking. "I have to be, don't I? There's no one else."

"We could find someone else."

"Like who?" Rose's eyes were bloodshot when she looked up. "The only person who might actually have a chance is Talc, and he's not here right now, is he?"

"See, that's where you're wrong," a voice said. They all rose abruptly, their hands jumping to their wands. Talc almost smiled, his hands rising in a gesture of peace. "Easy. I was told that a Healer was required." His eyes shot to Lily, and he frowned. "Are you alright?"

"Why do people keep asking me that?" Lily asked irritably, her frustration growing. "I'm _fine_. It's Scorpius that's not!" She turned to look directly at Talc, her fear growing until she could feel it like a stab wound to the gut. "Can you help him? His life is growing shorter, like the embers in a fire." Her voice was nearly a whisper. "He'll wither, wither, wither until there's nothing left. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." She shook her head morosely. Albus looked abruptly alarmed.

"What's wrong with her?" he demanded, turning toward Roxanne. "Why is she talking like that?"

Roxanne shrugged. "Shock. It'll wear off."

"I'm still examining her first," Talc said grimly. He, too, looked alarmed by her sudden poetic speech. "Lily, would you mind giving me your arm?"

She did so numbly, watching those gold eyes flicker across her skin. He muttered a few things under his breath, tapping her arm in a complex manner. She watched, fascinated, as a cloud of red and black intertwined, rising from her palm. "What's that?"

Talc frowned thoughtfully. "Your emotions, I guess. It's sort of like an aura."

"And?" Albus was hopping anxiously from foot to foot, hovering behind Talc as he inspected her. "Is she alright? Can you tell?"

"Yes, he can." It was Rose that spoke. She too had moved forward, peering worriedly over Talc's shoulder. "You see the red's there? They represent bravery, and courage. Those will be Lily's natural colours. And the black..." She leaned forward. examining the streaks with a frown. "That's worry, right? She's afraid."

"But I'm not." Lily felt unnaturally calm, in fact, almost unnervingly so. "I trust Talc. He wouldn't hurt me."

"Glad to hear it." Talc looked up from his work, giving her a wry smile. "But, as your cousin said earlier, you're in shock right now. You might not know that you're afraid or scared."

"But I'm _not_," Lily insisted. "I'm fine! I'm just _worried_ that Scorpius- oh. I see." She paused, her gaze falling on the sudden look of understanding on Talc's face. There was something else there - almost a hurt, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was-

"So there's nothing wrong with her?" Albus clarified, reaching forward to squeeze his sister on the shoulder. "She's alright?"

"As alright as she ever is." Talc gave a wan smile, setting down her arm gently on the bed. He was tired, Lily realized belatedly. The magic had drained him, as it did her not too long ago.

"You should have done Scorpius first," she said, shaking her head. "You're exhausted."

None of the others had noticed, apparently, and they all turned to look at him curiously. Talc's face was the perfect expression of surprise. "You noticed."

She frowned. "I just knew."

There was something about this that troubled him. He had that confused expression on his face, the same one that she had seen previously when he didn't understand something. "Only Healer's or people who have used spells big enough to actually drain their energy can notice something like that."

Lily froze. Abruptly, the image of a dead man flooded her mind, and she flinched. Albus's hand tightened on her shoulder.

"Maybe you should go somewhere else for a while," he suggested worriedly. "Lie down for a bit." Lily shook her head vehemently.

"I'm fine." She turned toward Talc, her expression pleading. She knew how much it would cost him, but still, she had to ask... "Please. Can you look at him?" She bit her lip, turning to look at Scorpius's sleeping figure.

There must have been something in her face that broke him because Talc sighed, crouching down until he was level with Scorpius's arm. His eyes were tortured when he looked at her. "I don't suppose you'd leave if I asked you to?" She shook her head. He almost smiled. "Right. Stubborn as usual."

With his free hand, he raised Scorpius's forearm, doing the same series of incantations he had done on her. Almost immediately, a mist of fine silver spiralled upwards, thinner and more fine than Lily's had been. She caught her breath.

"Is he okay? What does that mean?"

Talc and Rose exchanged a hard was a beat of silence. When Talc spoke, his voice was hoarse. "We need Pomfrey."

"_What_?" Lily felt a numbed sense of horror growing stronger within her, threatening to break this delicate shell that protected her. "Why? What does the aura mean?"

Rose had tears in her eyes. "It means that he's sick. Really sick." She wiped at her face hastily with her sleeve. "His aura's almost gone, and the longer we wait-" She didn't need to say anymore. Lily could see it all over her face.

"No," she said, horror-struck. "This wasn't his fault! He can't _die_." There was a collective flinch around the room that she ignored. "We have to do something." When no one moved, she raised her voice. "This is _Scorpius_!"

"Hugo," Albus said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Get her out. She's not well."

"No!" Lily fought the strong pair of arms that wrapped around her waist, struggling to hold on to Scorpius's shirt. "I won't go!" She mentally counted to ten, trying to put herself back into that numb cocoon. A deep breath in. "At least, I won't go until we do something."

"I can stabilize him." Lucy stepped forward, already drawing up her sleeves. Seeing everyone's looks of astonishment, she added self-consciously, "Well, only temporarily. Enough to get him down to the Hospital Wing." Talc, whose eyes never left the aura, nodded.

"I can help to hold him, but to actually cure him is beyond me."

Lucy nodded briskly. "The Hospital Wing it is then. Rose, you levitate him. Roxanne, you can spot." Roxanne, who did not look particularly pleased by the whole ordeal, nodded unhappily. Lucy gave her a grateful smile. "Talc and I can try and keep his injuries in check." Talc nodded.

"Right. If you could just-" Talc finally looked up, stopping mid-sentence as he caught side of Lucy. His eyes widened significantly, and his mouth dropped open. "Who are _you_?"

And Lucy, to Lily's complete disbelief, blushed from head to toe. She averted her grey eyes shyly. "Er, I'm Lucy. Another cousin."

"Lucy," Talc echoed. His voice sounded almost amazed. "Nice to meet you, Lucy."

"Oh, for God's sake!" Roxanne snapped, eyeing the two distastefully. "Are you two coming along, or do you plan to goggle at one another all day?"

That spurred everyone into action. All of a sudden, the dorm room was full of hasty movement, people propping open doors or pulling out wands. Somewhere, Lily heard her brother and Rose coming up with an explanation as to why Scorpius was injured. Blankets were being used as a safety net, and voices were arguing, and all of it was a little too much for Lily. More than anything else, she would have loved to sink back into that shell, where nothing really mattered and everything felt numb.

But she couldn't. She had to stay strong.

Abruptly, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, pulling her toward the door. She glanced up, hesitant, and Hugo smiled reassuringly at her. "Relax, Lilsy. I'm taking you to the common room."

"But-"

"Trust me." He tugged at her more urgently, guiding her down the stairs. Lily stumbled only once, but allowed herself to be led. There was nothing more she could do for Scorpius anyways.

The Common Room was virtually empty, aside from the scattered papers and quills that students had left lying around. A fire crackled merrily in the grate, a sharp contrast to the silent environment. She shivered and Hugo switched directions abruptly, heading for the cushy sofa near the fireplace.

"You look like you've been through hell and back," he said bluntly, swinging her around on the sofa so that her head was on his shoulder. His brown eyes studied her face in concern. Lily sighed, closing her own.

"Something like that." She cracked open an eye, irritated to find that he was still searching her expression worriedly. She scowled. "I wish everyone would stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" he asked, hurt. Lily shook her head.

"Like... I'm a nutter. Like you're all worried that I'm going to crack." Her hair, still wet, was soaking his jumper, but he either didn't notice or chose not to comment. His brow furrowed.

"Listen, I don't know what you did tonight Lily, but I can tell that whatever it was, it cost you. Your eyes-" He broke off, gazing at her intently. "They're different now. More haunted, like you've seen things we can only imagine."

"You're saying I _am_ crazy," she said in dismay. "You really do think that I'm a nutter."

"No! That's not-" He made a nose of frustration, raking his hands through his hair. "Look, I'm trying to say that none of us know how to treat you right now. I don't know how to comfort you because I don't know what you did."

There was an unasked question there, one that Lily wasn't ready to answer. She closed her eyes again, burrowing deeper into his jumper. "I'm afraid to tell you," she whispered.

This seemed to bring him up short. Hugo, for all of his lovely qualities, Lily thought sadly, really had no idea how to deal with terrified females. Especially not Lily. He seemed to settle for patting her back awkwardly. "It'll be okay, Lilsy. It always is."

"Can I tell you something?" Her voice was muffled, and she raised her chin, looking him in the eyes. "And if you believe I'm a bad person, will you look at me and say it?"

This seemed to bring him up short. "Lily-"

"Will you?" she pressed. He hesitated, then nodded. Something like relief went through her, only it was tainted with fear. "Okay. Alright. Give me a moment, and then I can tell you."

"Lily..." His voice was uncertain. "You know that I'll love you anyways, right? No matter what you say."

And there it was. In that sentence, Hugo had unknowingly given her all the strength she needed to tell him. Not because she expected him to uphold some oath he had made, but because right then, she knew that he needed the truth. She drew a deep breath. "I killed someone tonight. A man, in Knockturn Alley."

There was a beat of silence. Then another. His face was everything she had feared; terror, disgust, horror. It was all there, in his eyes, silently accusing her. Lily looked away.

"Say it," she said in a small voice. "Tell me, out loud."

And he did. "That's awful, Lily. No matter how honourable or noble it might have been, taking a human life is unforgivable." His brown eyes were hard and she flinched, waiting for more. And then he said it.

"But I love you anyways."

The shock finally gave, and she burst into tears.

o.O.o

_A/N: _I hope that was worth the wait. Read and review, please? If I get enough reviews, I might be persuaded to post another chapter soon.

Just saying. :)


	21. Surprise, Surprise

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!

_A/N: _The sheer number of overwhelming, beautifully crafted reviews has spurred me to put this up a couple days early. Please keep up the fantastic work, guys! This chapter's for all the Talc fans out there. Please enjoy :)

o.O.o

"So you're sure he's going to be fine?" Lily asked for the seventh time. She ignored her cousins' looks of impatience, instead keeping her gaze locked firmly on Madam Pomfrey. "I mean, he fell off of an astronomy tower and then was hit by the castle's protective spells. You don't exactly recover from that easily."

Madam Pomfrey sighed, giving Lily an exasperated look. Her dark eyes were stern beneath her glasses. "Yes, Potter, he's going to be fine. Just like he was going to be fine a couple minutes ago."

"But-" Lily bit her lip. "Should he still be unconscious? Is that normal?"

Madam Pomfrey gave a wry smile. "To be honest, we don't have many students fall off of the astronomy tower. I really don't know what's normal." Seeing Lily's alarmed expression, she added, "But yes, given the extent of his injuries, I would say that another day of rest is normal and well-encouraged."

"Oh." Lily tried not to let the relief show on her face. "And his memory will be intact? No lasting damage?"

"Potter, don't you have class to attend?" the matron asked pointedly. Somewhere nearby, Hugo chuckled.

"I wouldn't try that with Lily," he told Madam Pomfrey with the air of a person well-learned. "She's stubborn as a centaur when she gets an idea in her head. Generally it's better to threaten or to bribe her." His tone was light, but when Lily looked back at him, something like pain flashed in his eyes. It was hurting him to see her hurt, she realized. A pang of guilt went through her. Madam Pomfrey, oblivious to their exchange, made a noise of exasperation.

"Well understood, Mr. Weasley." She turned to Lily, her irritation clearly growing. "Mr. Malfoy will be perfectly alright in a matter of days. The only thing to stop him from a full recovery is lack of adequate _rest_."

The point was clear in her tone and Lily rose, smoothing out her robes. She shot Madam Pomfrey a stern look. "I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, then."

Madam Pomfrey cast her eyes skyward. "I have no doubt, Ms. Potter."

Lily followed her cousins towards the door, shooting one last worried look over her shoulder. Now that the numbness had worn off, she had found herself blanketed in feelings she couldn't even begin to understand. There was the obvious guilt, of course, that Scorpius had been the one to take the curse. Then there was the horror over what she had done. And something else, some protective instinct that was foreign to her-

"Ms. Potter!"

She turned sharply, pausing in the doorway. Madam Pomfrey wore an odd expression. Her eyes probed the skin where Lily's neck and shoulder met. "Are you injured?"

Lily frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"Are you injured?" the matron repeated. Seeing Lily's expression of confusion, she gestured to her own neck. "You have a laceration. Right here, near your shoulder."

Lily felt her brow furrow. "I don't-"

It hit her all at once. _The hickey. _She felt her cheeks flame with embarrassment and she clapped a hand over her neck, mortified. "Oh, that." She was fairly certain that her face was the color of her hair now. "I, er, tripped. Earlier, I tripped... into a door." She winced.

Madam Pomfrey's expression was calculating, and Lily didn't believe for a moment that the matron was buying her story. Still, she nodded briskly. "Alright, then. Try to be more careful in the future around... _doors_, Potter." She hesitated. "The prophet might get the wrong idea."

Lily nodded, her cheeks still flaming. Eagerly, she pushed open the door, moving to join her cousin's in the corridor. Lucy looked at her worriedly.

"What did she want? Are you feeling ill?"

Perfect. Just what she needed. A panicked Lucy.

Lily tried to make her expression reassuring. "It was nothing, really. Just some questions about Scorpius." This, apparently, had the opposite effect of what she had hoped for. Lucy chewed her lip anxiously.

"Do you think she knows about last night?" she asked, an edge of hysteria in her voice. "Does she suspect that you were involved?" They had agreed yesterday that it was better if Lily played the role of an outsider, considering how emotionally unstable she had been. Lily had reluctantly agreed, although now, seeing Lucy's look of sheer terror, she was wondering how smart it had been to let her cousins shoulder the blame.

"I don't think-"

"If there's any chance that you could be in trouble, we need to find you an alibi," Hugo said grimly, his fists tensing. Lily could see exactly what he was thinking; if there had been one of them who hated Scorpius enough to push him off an astronomy tower, people would assume it was her. "I could convince Castor or Zeek to say that you were with one of them. What do you think?"

His words were directed at Lucy, a notion which irritated Lily further. Ever since last night, her family seemed to be walking on eggshells around her, as if they were afraid that she might snap again and become nonsensical. Lily gritted her teeth.

"It was really nothing," she insisted, her hand flying unconsciously to her neck. "Honestly, I think Pomfrey's becoming a little attached to me, what with all the time that I spend in there. She probably just wanted to make sure that I was alright."

It was then that she realized her mistake.

Roxanne, who had been watching her carefully, smiled triumphantly. Her eyes were watching Lily's hand. "Your hickey!" she crowed, causing several people passing by to turn and look at them curiously. "I forgot!"

"_Roxanne_," Lily hissed, looking around in alarm. "Will you shut it? All of Hogwarts can hear you!"

"Is that what Madam Pomfrey wanted?" Lucy asked, sounding relieved. Lily really couldn't tell why; in her personal opinion, being accused of a high-level attack was much better than all of Hogwarts knowing about her love life. "Oh, thank Merlin."

"You didn't let her heal it, did you?" Roxanne asked gleefully, darting around her to get a better view. "Good god, that thing's huge! It's like a built-in target for spell practice." They were attracting a small group of students now, who lingered just close enough to see what was happening. Lily, who was beyond embarrassed, buried her face in her hands.

"Roxanne," she moaned. "Can you quit it? Please?"

"Quit what?" a familiar voice asked.

Lily could have died. She glanced up quickly and yes, there he was. Those gold eyes looked back at her with an innocent curiosity, and when he noticed her expression of horror, Talc grinned.

"What did you do this time, Potter?"

"She has a hickey." To her surprise, it was Lucy that spoke, and there was heat in her tone. Lily blinked, astonished. Lucy seemed to realize what she had said and flushed. "I mean, it's perfectly alright that she does. I'm just saying that she's taken, is all." Her voice was defensive. Roxanne grinned.

"And yet, she refuses to tell us _who_ the lucky bloke is," she said in delight, sensing Lily's anguish. "Shall I wager some guesses?"

"Rox-" Lily groaned. But her cousin was on a roll.

"I don't think it was Lysander," she mused, ticking a finger off of her hand. "Or Lorcan. They're Luna's kids, and you wouldn't go for the whole family-friend thing."

Lily flinched, noting the growing crowd. She wondered vaguely if Scorpius counted as a family friend. "I-"

"Maybe Blackthorne?" Roxanne paused, tapping her chin. She, apparently, was oblivious to their growing audience. "You had a thing with him in third year, right?" Lily was about ready to strangle her at this point. Hugo looked disgusted.

"Cor. Please say that it wasn't Arius Blackthorne, Lilsy," he said, wrinkling his nose. "The boy smells like the underside of a flobberworm. Plus, he's a Slytherin."

"So am I," Talc pointed out coolly. Hugo frowned.

"Yeah. But you're not the one who kissed her."

"Actually," Talc said, to Lily's complete and utter astonishment, "I am."

For a moment, there was ringing silence. Lily met Talc's eyes with a feeling of numb shock, searching his gaze. There was certainty there, a belief in what he was doing being right, and also a look of... concern?

_He's worried_, she thought unhappily. _Of course he is. If it were to get out that it was Scorpius_... She didn't even need to finish that thought. And yet, Talc had no idea who she had gotten the hickey from, did he?

She looked at him again. _Yes_, she thought in surprise. _He did_.

"You're the one that gave Lily the hickey?"

Lily jerked herself back to the present, just in time to see Hugo turn to look at Talc. His expression was completely dumbfounded. She had no doubt that if he hadn't been so caught off-guard, punches would have been pulled. Talc seemed to realize this at the same time she did.

"Lily, can I talk to you a moment?" he asked quietly. "Alone?"

"No way," Hugo said, apparently finding his footing. He shook his head. "In fact, don't come within ten feet of her ever again! Or I'll run you through with one of the quidditch hoops."

This pronouncement was met gleefully by the groups of watching students. Taking this as their cue to begin discussion, an outbreak of noise began, the buzz of the corridor rising. Lily groaned.

"Hugo, stop it." She shot him a meaningful look before turning to Talc. "Of course you can. Only, I'm sort of going to be late for Charms."

"I'll walk you there," he said, leaving no room for further discussion. Lily nodded, turning to shoot an apologetic look at her cousin's over her shoulder. Hugo still had a black expression, and his eyes followed them up the stairs. Roxanne looked delighted to learn that Lily had a love life. And Lucy...

Lucy looked miserable.

Lily frowned, opening her mouth to speak, but Talc beat her to the punch. "It's okay, you know." He shot her a sideways look as they climbed the staircase, a wry expression on his face. "You can yell at me if you want. I can take it."

Lily was puzzled. He meant it, too. "Why would I yell at you?" she asked reasonably. "You've saved me four times now. If anything, I should give you a medal or something."

"Four times, hey?" Talc looked bemused. "I wasn't aware that you were keeping track." They rounded a corner, taking a sharp left to the next staircase. Lily ran through a mental checklist.

"First with Porella," she said, ticking one off in her head. "And the time with the Veritaserum, when I burst into your common room." She swallowed, pressing on quickly before her throat could get tight. "Last night." Lily wasn't sure if she could elaborate on that either, and so she didn't bother to try. "And then just now, when you covered for me about the hickey."

Talc looked impressed. "That's quite the list you have written up."

Lily shrugged. "It's just the truth," she said simply. Talc hesitated, falling into step with her as they began to climb the second staircase.

"It's just- don't think of them as debts, alright?" He sounded slightly nervous, and Lily looked at him in surprise. He chuckled self-consciously. "I mean, I don't expect you to repay them."

"Why not?" Lily asked curiously. "You didn't have to do any of them."

"But I wanted to." They took another turn at the top of the stairs, this time to the right. Lily noticed that he wouldn't meet her eyes. "Last night..." His voice trailed off. "I helped you because I care about you, Lily. Not because I wanted a favor."

"I never got a chance to thank you for that," Lily said, suddenly embarrassed. They had reached the classroom door, and she crossed her arms, hesitating. "I meant to. I saw how much it took out of you just to check me, and then you healed Scorpius-"

"Scorpius," he echoed, closing his eyes. There was a flicker of a smile on his face. "You care about him, don't you? It was more than just guilt last night," he continued, seeing the protests on her face. "I can see the way that you look at him. It's like you're seeing the sun for the first time. You just sort of... light up."

The sudden insight caught her off guard, and she blanched. "Talc-"

"No, it's alright. You think that I don't know where that's from?" He gestured to her neck and it took every ounce of her self-control not to cover the mark up. His eyes darkened. "I'm not saying that it makes any sense, but somehow, you love him."

"Love's a strong word," she protested weakly. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I was going to say it wasn't strong enough." Talc sighed, and suddenly, the light returned to his face. Lily recognized it in a moment; determination. "Look, I don't want to be that guy that tells you what's good for you. You're smart and intelligent, and more than capable of making your own decisions." He raked a hand through his unruly brown hair, making it stick up all over the place. "But Scorpius is damaged goods, Lily. He's sort of broken inside, and you need someone- someone whole."

Lily laughed, though there was no humor in it. "Unfortunately, there's not a lot of that around."

Talc hesitated. "Well, there's me." She could see it then, in his expression, what he had wanted to say. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop, but something about his eyes made her pause. They were vulnerable and nervous. As much as she should, she couldn't bring herself to crush his hopes before he had even said them.

He drew a breath, and she steeled herself. "Lily, I know that you love him a lot, maybe even more than you realize. But I also know that you care about me too. And I could be patient." There was that smile again, the anxious one that broke her heart. "I think you could be happy with me, Lily. Really happy."

Talc's expression was eager, and it ate at her heart until she felt like maybe she had no heart at all. It was suddenly difficult to breathe. "Talc-" She broke off, looking down. "I like you. And when I say that I like you, I mean that I care about you a lot. But the truth is that I'm not whole either." She thought of the man's body on the floor, staring sightlessly at the roof. The life that she had taken. "And you don't really know how to put me together again."

"But Scorpius does." He looked at her sadly, shaking his head. "I could learn, though. If you helped me, I could-"

"What about Lucy?"

Her words surprised her as much as they did him. Talc's mouth popped open into an O, and he frowned. "What about her?"

Lily was astonished to find that she had an answer ready. "You like her," she said firmly, deciding it to be true. "I saw the way you looked at her last night. And to be honest, you need someone like her. She's more whole than anyone else I know."

His expression was unusually troubled. "But-"

"Think on it," she said decidedly. "You might surprise yourself."

And she turned and left for class.

o.O.o

As it turned out, none of her cousins wanted to visit Scorpius the next afternoon. Roxanne was legitimately busy, having landed herself in detention for causing a ruckus in the hallway the previous day. Rose was similarly tied up in advanced potions, and Lucy was off wherever Lucy tended to be these days. As for Hugo...

Well, Lily knew that you could hardly pay him enough galleons to come and visit Scorpius Malfoy, life-threatening situation or not. Which left her in a room with Al and Scorpius. Her brother, and the boy who had expressed his hatred for her, kissed her, and then taken a possibly lethal curse for her.

Bloody brilliant.

"Scorpius!" Albus's grin lit up the room, and he hastened to sit in the chair directly beside the hospital bed. This left Lily hovering awkwardly and she crossed her arms, remaining just out of view. Al ruffled the blonde boy's hair affectionately. "How are you doing, you git?"

"I've been better," he groaned. He stretched, flexing his arms. "Merlin. I feel like someone's hit me in the chest with a two-by-four."

"They sort of did." Lily stepped into view, trying to ignore the fluttering in her chest. She noticed with relief that Scorpius looked a lot healthier than he had earlier. There was color in his cheeks, and his blue eyes were full of life. They sobered slightly when they saw her.

"Lily." It came out as sort of a sigh of exasperation, as if he should have expected her. "I thought you might come."

"Did you not want to see me?" she asked, stung. "I mean, I can go, if you'd like. I just thought-" She bit her lip, cutting herself off before she could say anything stupid. Scorpius's words hurt a little more than they should have, and he looked taken aback.

"No, it's just that I figured that you wouldn't want to seeme." He raised his eyebrows, searching her expression. "Or if you did, you'd want to yell at me."

Lily frowned. Two boys had encouraged her to yell at them lately, and of the two, only one had been correct. She _did_ want to yell at Scorpius. She wanted to scream and rage and hurl things at him, until he understood that what he put her through was inexcusable. She also sort of wanted to apologize until his ears fell off.

But she couldn't do either with Al here.

"You can't just yell at sick people," she said instead. "That's like shaking a baby. It might be satisfying for a moment, but it's generally looked down upon later."

Al looked horrified. "You've shaken a baby?"

Scorpius, who had apparently recognized her attempt to change the subject, backtracked. "Never mind," he said carelessly, reclining back into his bed. "I really don't care who's shaken what." He paused, smirking. "Unless it's Porella shaking something of yours, Al."

"_Scorpius_." Her brother looked mortified, staring agape at his best friend. He shot a horrified look in Lily's direction. "That's my sister!"

"Porella?" Scorpius's smirk grew wider. "I think not."

"I'm going to kill you," Albus muttered mutinously, glaring blackly in his direction. "I am going to rip off your head, turn to cannibalism, and then eat it." Lily couldn't help but be impressed by the imagery. Scorpius frowned, looking slightly insulted.

"I almost just died," he said mildly. "Don't you think that you should appreciate having me back for a while before you make death threats?" It was clear that it was meant to be a joke, but Albus's expression instantly sobered.

"You're right. I am glad to have you back, completely intact and sarcastic." He hesitated. "Can you- do you want to talk about that night? Because I can listen. You know that."

Scorpius blanched, shooting a look at Lily. His expression was unreadable. "It's all sort of fuzzy," he said shortly. "I can't remember much after we walked into the shop."

His words would have had her convinced, had Lily not been able to see the strain in his eyes. _He's lying_, she realized with a pang. _He knows more than he's letting on. And he's doing it for me._

Albus, completely oblivious to his friend's inner turmoil, fidgeted uncomfortably with a quill, tearing small grey feathers from it methodically. "Er, you probably don't remember what happened to your locket then, right?"

Lily froze. She shot Albus a hard look that he missed. They had agreed not to bring this up until Scorpius was safely out of the Hospital Wing and well enough to handle any bad news. Al had apparently either forgotten, or had decided to disregard any other opinion than his own.

She was banking on the latter.

"The locket." Scorpius closed his eyes. Lily could see dark circles smudged around the corners, the only tell-tale sign of his long nights. "I forgot. What happened to it? Do you have it?"

"Not exactly," Lily interjected, speaking quickly before Al had the chance to open his mouth. "Actually, when we were in the shop, there was a struggle..." She met his eyes. "I couldn't see. There was so much happening; lots of really bright lights, and a rebound curse hit the locket-"

"It's gone." Albus shook his head. "I'm sorry, mate. I know it was important to you."

A heavy silence fell. Lily swallowed. She could feel the anxious beat of her heart, the only sound in the still. Scorpius's eyes were unreadable. When he spoke, his eyes were on Lily. "There are things more important to me."

For reasons unknown to her, Lily felt herself flush. "You two are awfully dull," she said, rolling her eyes. "And I'm third-wheeling in this relationship." She wasn't, actually, but no one needed to know, and she felt awkward interrupting their reunion. Instead, she dug in her book bag, pulling out the latest copy of Teen Witch Weekly. Albus's eyes bugged out of his head.

"Is that a _magazine?_" he demanded, looking astonished. "You're reading a magazine?" Lily looked at her brother coolly.

"Actually, I thought that I'd just wear it as a hat for a while. Is that alright with you?"

Al waved her away impatiently. "You know what I mean." He frowned, staring at her as if deciding that she must be some sort of clone. "You hate gossip magazines. All they do is talk about you."

"And me," Scorpius threw in helpfully, examining his nails. "Last month I was voted among the top ten single bachelors. Not that I check things like that, of course," he added unconvincingly.

"Give me that." Al snatched the magazine out of her hand before she could say another word, already flipping through bemusedly. Lily scowled.

"Oi! Be careful with that. You wouldn't believe how expensive it was."

Al ignored her completely, scanning the pages with interest. His facial expressions morphed from confused to amused to utterly perplexed and then back again. At one point he laughed aloud, looking up in bewilderment.

"They have a quiz," he said in disbelief. "A _quiz_."

Lily tried her hardest not to smile. "Yes, Al. Believe it or not, most magazines have quizzes."

"Quidditch ones don't," he pointed out reasonably. Lily frowned.

"There's no such thing as a quidditch magazine," she said, prying Teen With Weekly out of her brother's eager clutches. "Only brochures, and stuff." She looked down at the page he was on, her mouth quirking in amusement. "Is Aleksander Krum the Wizard for You?"

Al had the good grace to blush. "Hey, I didn't write the magazine." Scorpius, who was looking mildly entertained by the whole exchange, quirked an eyebrow.

"And is he the wizard for me?" he asked, directing his words to Lily. "Because if so, I need to work on my Bulgarian." His expression was solemn. Lily scanned the page, finding the first question. She had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling.

"Question one," she said, trying to keep her expression neutral. "Aleksander's buying you a birthday present. What does your sweetie get you?"

"Tickets to his next game," Al said immediately, wrinkling his nose thoughtfully. "Or a signed autograph. Maybe both if we were really serious."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid that those aren't among the options. Besides," she added pointedly, "isn't Scorpius the one taking the quiz?"

"Are you trying to steal my man?" Scorpius deadpanned, turning to look at Albus gravely. "Not cool, mate. Not cool at all." Albus swatted him on the head.

Lily, who was used to the two boy's banter, ignored them completely. "Option one is a new wardrobe," she said, scanning the page. "The second one's an owl. The third is- ooh! A new broom!" She couldn't hold back a sigh, thinking of the quality of the imaginary broom. Aleksander Krum's girlfriend would be a lucky girl, indeed. Seeing the two boy's impatient expressions, she cleared her throat and continued. "Or lingerie. And I think that there's a smiley face after that or something, and it keeps winking at me."

Scorpius frowned thoughtfully. "Is he wearing the lingerie, or am I?" Seeing Lily's horrified expression, he shrugged. "I need clarification."

"You can both share it," she said, trying her hardest not to picture Scorpius in lingerie. Scorpius smiled angelically.

"I'll go with the broom, then."

Lily could feel a migraine coming on. "Question two," she said, turning her attention back to the article. "Pop quiz! How well do you know this heartthrob? What's Aleksander's favorite color?"

"Vlad likes brown," Scorpius announced, reclining in his bed. Lily felt her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Incorrect. And who's Vlad?"

Scorpius grinned. "Well, I assumed that since I'd get the color wrong, I should try for bonus points with his middle name." He turned to Al. "Vlad is pretty Bulgarian sounding, isn't it?"

"I would say so." He lifted a shoulder lazily. "So what is his favorite color?"

"Red," Lily announced, leaning forward to squint at the text. Scorpius snorted.

"Figures. It's the easiest one to spell."

"Ugh!" Lily threw the magazine at his head, groaning in frustration. There was definitely potential for a migraine. "You two are impossible! I'm giving up."

"But how will I know if he's the guy for me?" Scorpius demanded, a wicked smirk in his eyes. He began to thumb through the magazine, looking for the article to further irritate her, no doubt. "I can hardly start planning my future if I don't know-"

He froze, his hand hovering above the magazine. Something like disbelief flashed across his face and he went pale, almost as if in pain. Al was by his side in a second, any earlier lightheartedness and joking gone from his expression. His eyes were grim.

"Do you need Madam Pomfrey? Hold on, I can-" Then he too paused, becoming as motionless as Scorpius had. His eyes widened as he took in the article. "It's got to be fake."

"What?" A bad feeling had coiled in the pit of Lily's stomach. At her voice, both boys looked up with identical horrified expressions. The panicked feeling grew. "What? What does it say?"

"Lily," Albus said slowly, his voice careful. "Are you- are you seeing someone?" He flinched, as if uncertain how to bring up a subject like that. Albus, Lily thought tiredly, for all of his brilliant traits, really needed to pick up some tips from Hugo in the brother department.

"Let me see," she said wearily, grabbing the magazine from Scorpius's hands.

She nearly dropped it again.

The entire page spread had been dedicated to pictures of her and Talc, laughing and joking around. There was a grainy one blown up in the center from when she had fallen off of her broom, and he had tried to catch her. The determination in his eyes was unmistakeable.

Lily groaned, skimming through the article. Fragments like _frequently visits his dormitory_ and _love bites and late nights_ jumped out at her, bold and glaring. They might as well have just announced their engagement.

"Well?" Albus asked, his gaze cutting into her. "Are you and Talc-" He coughed, clearing his throat. "Er, together?"

"I-" She bit her lip. Albus was looking at her with a mixture of brotherly protection and worry, whereas Scorpius...

Well, she wasn't certain how he looked. Sort of like she had hit him across the face, actually. It made her want to cry. On one hand, Talc really had admitted to giving her a love bite, which made her look like a bit of a harpy if she wasn't going out with him. On the other hand, she couldn't stand having Scorpius look at her like that for any longer.

And so she didn't.

"I have to go," she blurted. And she ran out of the room.

o.O.o

_A/N: I am fully expecting to be mobbed with angry reviews. Fire away :)_


	22. Hurt

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!

_Author's Note_: I'm sorry that it's taken me forever to update, and I completely understand if you all hate me a little. But please read this chapter and let me know what you think. I just thought that I'd warn you that it is **controversial, **but that it may not be exactly what you're expecting. Just make sure to read all the way to the end!

o.O.o

"I need you to talk to Molly," Rose said firmly. "Sooner, rather than later."

Her cousin had cornered Lily after Transfiguration class, dragging her to the side of the busy corridor. Packs of students shuffled to move around them, hurrying to get to their next class. They all shot curious looks at Lily as they passed. She glowered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Do we have to do this now?" she asked irritably. "I feel like I've become a sideshow performance for people's entertainment."

Before she had finished speaking, Rose grabbed her arm, pulling her further to the right. She wasn't being particularly gentle, either. Stunned, Lily allowed herself to be pushed along through a group of Hufflepuffs. "Where are we going?"

"Broom closet," Rose said briskly, opening a door along the side of the wall. "You can't perform with no audience." Abruptly, she pushed Lily into the small, cramped area, shutting the door behind them. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"You plan your kidnappings quite thoroughly, don't you?"

"I'm a Ravenclaw," Rose said, by way of explanation. She waited somewhat patiently for Lily to settle herself on a nearby bucket, tapping her foot anxiously. When she was apparently satisfied that she had her attention, she began again. "So will you do it? Will you talk to Molly?"

"I talk to Molly all the time," Lily said carefully, scrutinizing Rose's expression. It was impassive, almost as unreadable as Scorpius's. Her cousin had been picking up tips. "I owl her weekly."

"I need you to go and talk to her in person," Rose stressed, hopping up to sit on a pile of cardboard boxes. "Please, Lily. I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it was important." Lily stared at her incredulously.

"You want me to hop on a broom, fly all the way to London in about a day, barge into Molly's flat and just pop in to have a nice chat?"

"Basically." Rose tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. "Although, I'm not sure how pleasant the chat will be."

Lily felt suddenly tired. It was like she was running laps around an endless pitch, and just when she thought she was getting closer to the finish line, she would realize that the circle had broadened. "Can I at least ask what I'm talking to her about before I swear allegiance?"

"Oh." Rose had a crease between her eyes, as if she hadn't thought of that before. "Right. Well, I, er-" She broke off, looking suddenly awkward. "I talked to Scorpius. About that night."

"You _what_?" Lily sat up straight, her mouth popping open. A sharp stab of betrayal went through her and she winced, putting a hand to her stomach. "He talked to you about it?"

"I forced him to," Rose admitted. Lily noticed that she wouldn't meet her eyes. "He didn't want to tell me, but I-" She hesitated again. "I convinced him."

Lily felt a flash of sympathy. While Rose was not the type of person to resort to torturing answers out of someone, her analytical mind could come up with thousands of equally unpleasant ways to extract information. As a child, Lily had been bribed, threatened, and cajoled into more deals than she could remember. Sometimes, Rose was truly terrifying.

"And what did he say?" she asked, silently willing him to have not mentioned the fact that she had posed as his fiancee. Rose had enough ideas about the two of them already.

"He mentioned a pensieve," her cousin said, frowning. Lily could tell that her mind was going a million miles an hour. "One that used to be in his family. It holds memories from the first war."

Lily looked at her oddly. She was about to ask what exactly Rose was on about when it came rushing back to her, piece by piece. Anguis's cold eyes, his hard laugh. She shivered as she remembered his words.

_"Surprised you didn't know. Though' you'd have seen that pensieve that old Lucius likes to keep around. Got all them memories of the first war."_

"He could have been lying," Lily said automatically. "Anguis, that is. The man we talked to at the shop." She flinched as she said the name, but managed to keep a straight face despite the nagging guilt she felt. Rose looked thoughtful.

"He could have," she allowed. "But I don't think so." Lily shifted uncomfortably on the bucket.

"What makes you so sure?"

Rose hesitated. "I wasn't at first," she admitted. "But then I looked into it. There's references to it everywhere, Lily. It looks like the Ministry collected the Dark Lord's follower's memories after the war and compiled them altogether for referencing purposes. It sounds extensive."

"But Anguis-" She broke off, biting her lip. "The shopkeeper said the pensieve was in the Malfoy family." The confusion was there in her voice. Lily stoutly refused to believe that Scorpius would have neglected to mention the fact that he was holding the key to finding out information about the war. And yet, if he knew and hadn't mentioned it...

Well, Lily refused to think about that either.

"It was," Rose said, apparently oblivious to her inner turmoil. "Until about ten years ago, when it was removed and placed elsewhere." She paused. "By your dad."

"My dad?" Lily echoed. She felt suddenly faint, and was grateful that she was seated. "Why would he have the authority to move it?"

"Well, if we're taking Anguis's words at face value, it sounds like he defeated the greatest dark wizard of all time," Rose said, giving her a wry smile. "He probably could have had it framed in your house, if he liked."

"Damn it," Lily cursed loudly, jumping to her feet. "We need that pensieve!" She began to pace the length of the small room, kicking things aside in agitation. Rose was definitely smiling now.

"I'm glad to see that you agree."

"It's the key to everything," Lily muttered, nudging a broom aside with her toe. "I can feel it. Something's coming, something big. If we could just get those memories..." She trailed off, giving the broom a frustrated look. "We might be able to understand."

Rose's expression had turned solemn, and her eyes were grave when she spoke. "I know it's all connected, but I can't figure out how. The Dark Mark, your accident, this locket, the lockdown on New Year's; it's all related somehow, only I can't see the strings that attach it all." She bit her lip. Lily could tell from Rose's expression that she was even more frustrated than her, simply because her Ravenclaw traits wouldn't allow her peace until she solved the puzzle. Still, there was one thing that didn't make sense to Lily...

"Why Molly?"

Rose looked up with a startled expression, as if she had forgotten that she was ever there in the first place. "What?"

"Molly," Lily repeated. "Why do I need to go and talk to her about the pensieve? You said my dad moved it. If anything, I should be talking to James right now."

"I already did," Rose said, not entirely surprisingly. "He doesn't know anything. And I didn't really expect him to." She fixed Lily with a level look, her eyes hard. "Think, Lily. Who would your dad be more likely to confide the location of a priceless object to; James, or Molly?"

The good-sister answer was James, of course, and some more noble part of her immediately rose to the defense of her brother. Then the more practical part took over, and she frowned. "Molly," she admitted grudgingly. "I would tell Molly over almost anyone else."

"Exactly." Rose looked extremely pleased with herself. "Which is precisely the reason you need to talk to her."

Lily, who had almost forgotten the entire reason that they were have this conversation in the first place, frowned. "Why me?"

"What?" Rose asked. She sounded tired. Lily winced, but continued on determinedly.

"I mean, I'm not saying that I won't do it. But why me? Why not somebody else?"

Lily thought that she had Rose there. She was not directly blood related to Molly anymore than the rest of them, and saw her about as regularly as any of the family did. Put simply, there really was no viable reason as to why Lily should be the one to do it. And yet, Rose smiled.

"Why _not_ you?" she asked simply. "Molly trusts you more than anyone else. If we need information, you're our best bet."

"What about Lucy?" Lily frowned, leaning forward on her make-shift seat. "They're sisters. Surely Molly would talk to her." Rose shifted uncomfortably. One of the boxes fell down from the pile, but she didn't move to pick it up.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this," she murmured, taking a deep breath, "but Lucy's unreliable." Seeing Lily's look of protest, she hurried to explain. "I just mean that she's gone a lot. She disappears regularly without a word to any of us, and then shows up three hours later, acting like it was no big deal! And even if I could find her, who's to say that she would be willing to help us?" Lily crossed her arms.

"So she has a life. I still don't see the problem here."

Rose sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, will you do it or not? Because if you won't, then I'll have to find someone else. Or I'll go myself."

Actually, Lily thought that Rose going would be a lot less complicated. For starters, her cousin could just apparate to London once she reached the Hogwarts' gate, a luxury that Lily wouldn't have. But she also knew that Molly wouldn't be as likely to divulge her secrets to someone like Rose. With her logical mind, Rose would make the whole thing seem an awful lot like an interrogation.

Which left only one choice in the end.

Lily let out a shaky breath. "Alright," she conceded. "I'll go."

Rose looked on the verge of standing up and cheering. Instead, the other girl rose, grinning from ear-to-ear. She appeared to be trying to maintain her composure. "Really?"

"Don't make me change my mind," Lily warned, already regretting her decision. It would be a long flight, possibly for no reason at all but to visit her cousin. Rose still looked ecstatic.

"Are you leaving this weekend, then? Or do you want me to get you out of class tomorrow?"

The fact that Rose was willing to spring someone out of class for anything was a little earth-shattering, but Lily shook her head. "No, I'm going to wait for the weekend. Otherwise Molly will be working."

"Oh." Rose looked a little disappointed that she hadn't thought of that part herself, but smiled nonetheless. "And you know that you don't actually have to fly there, right?"

"Would you rather I walk?" Lily deadpanned.

Rose's excitement never dampened. "Professor Longbottom is having tea at my Mum and Dad's place Saturday afternoon," she said, completely ignoring Lily's previous comment. "So his classroom will be empty. Do you understand what I'm saying?" She shot her a meaningful look. Lily was more confused than ever.

"You want me to ransack his office?"

"I want you to use the floo network!" Rose said, exasperated. "He won't be back until later, which gives you just enough time to get in and get out." Her cheeks were flushed with anticipation. Lily couldn't help but feel that she was probably pale with nerves. She felt suddenly sick, and the air of the cramped room became stifling.

"I'd better go," she blurted, stumbling back towards the door. "I'm going to be late for class."

"Right," Rose agreed, moving to follow her. "You know the plan, then?" Lily really thought that she might be sick. She tried to smile, running through the list in her head.

"Break into Professor Longbottom's office on Saturday, floo to Molly's, extract information, floo back," she said, mentally ticking things off the checklist as she went. Rose beamed.

"Perfect," she said, her voice proud. "Then there's just one more thing to talk about."

Lily sincerely hoped that whatever it was, it wouldn't add to her already-filled plate. She wasn't sure how much more her delicate nerves would take. "Shoot," she offered, grimacing.

Rose hesitated, then seemed to decide better of it. "Are you dating Talc?"

That had not been what she was expecting. "Argh!" Lily threw her hands over her eyes, reaching for the door handle. "Rose!"

"Are you?" she persisted, chasing her down the busy corridor. "Because it's fine if you are. But I really just think that you-"

"Drop it!" Lily complained, dodging around a group of Hufflepuffs. "Do you hear me, Rose Weasley? Drop this right now, or I will curse you into the middle of next week."

"It sounds like you are!" Rose was losing ground now, craning her neck over the sea of students to see her. "Lily! Roxanne told me about the hickey! And Teen Witch Weekly said-"

"Drop it!" Lily called, never turning around. "I mean it, Rose."

"Stay safe!" Her cousin was shouting now to be heard over the students. "And remember; _If the wand's out, a baby wizard could sprout_!"

o.O.o

It took Lily a moment to actually find the floo powder in Professor Longbottom's office.

The room was crowded with various objects, most of which were odd looking plants and labeled packets of seeds. She also noted several foreign-looking items, among which was a shallow stone basin that let off an eerie white glow. Lily was tempted to sniff it experimentally, but decided against it. No telling what could kill you in here.

She finally found the floo powder buried deep in his desk, and hesitated only a moment before grabbing it. She firmly ignored the gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach. Yes, it was wrong to steal, but what choice did they have, really? If nobody else was prepared to teach them, they would have to teach themselves.

Lily moved to the fireplace, staring at the flames for a moment. They licked her face with warm fingers of fire, the same color as her hair. _Hair like flame_, Scorpius had said. She hadn't really thought it might be true until now.

"Get a grip, Lily," she muttered, reprimanding herself. "You don't have all day." She shook her head to clear it, then shakily tossed the powder in the fire. It flared bright green, just long enough for Lily to step inside and say in a clear voice, "Molly's Flat, London."

The effects were immediate. She felt a sharp jerk at her navel and then she was spinning, upwards and downwards all at once. Lily thought she might have screamed but it was hard to tell, and all she could see was endless grates and green flames all around her. It could have been a minute, or it could have been a lifetime when suddenly it was over, and she hit hard ground.

Her knees buckled beneath her and she tumbled out of the fireplace, coughing ash and soot all over the pristine wooden flooring. She sent a silent apology to whatever house elf Percy had no doubt hired for Molly before scrambling to her feet, gripping the mantel to steady herself. She took in her surroundings.

Molly's flat was just as she remembered it; four adjoining rooms were clustered neatly together, all of them decorated with sleek black and white furniture. The only color came from the bright red stools in the kitchen, and the roses set near the window. Lily moved closer, peering out at downtown London. Most of the snow had melted now that it was April, and groups of children raced home from school, playing tag in the streets while they went.

A sudden crash from further into the flat made her jump. _Molly_, Lily thought in relief, turning away from the window. _She's home from work after all_.

She followed the sounds down the hallway and towards the bedroom, frowning as she drew near. She knew her cousin to lead a very stoic love-life and yet, the sounds coming from the room were not something that sounded like she would be forgiven for interrupting. Still, Lily had flooed all the way from Hogwarts for this, and they weren't likely to get another opportunity to do so again.

Her mind made up, she pushed open the door, praying that whoever was in there would understand. But what she discovered made her blood run cold, and she stood frozen in shock, staring at the couple in the middle of the room.

The boy was Louis.

o.O.o

Lily watched the two with horrid fascination, trying to decide what to do.

Louis and Molly were fetched up against the closet, and they were kissing so passionately it was difficult to see where one stopped and the other began. Lily watched in complete disbelief as Louis growled possessively in his throat, pushing Molly harder against the wall. She responded with a breathy sound and clutched more tightly at his shirt collar. They were completely entranced, still unassuming to her position. But Lily couldn't let this horror-show go on for much longer, and she cleared her throat loudly.

This yielded no results. And so she went for the classic approach, and roughly threw a nearby cushion at the two of them.

They jumped apart with a startled yelp, each whipping around to face Lily with identical guilty expressions. Louis had lipstick all over his face, which would have been comical if Lily had not been so horrified. Molly looked back at her with a similar expression. Her normally tidy brown-hair stuck up in a complete disarray.

"So." Lily was surprised to hear how cold her own voice had become. She was a little surprised that she could speak at all, actually. "The closet, hey? Classy."

That seemed to break the spell. Louis swore profusely, saying some things that Aunt Fleur would definitely disapprove of. "Lily," he groaned, closing his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I- What are _you_ doing here?" Lily demanded, gesturing between the two of them. "What are you doing? Wait, no." She winced, putting a cool hand to her forehead. "Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

"Lily, it's not what it looks like." Molly looked close to tears, and she moved forward with an outstretched hand. Lily flinched back automatically. "Please! Let me explain-"

"I think I understand perfectly," Lily said coldly. Her eyes burned a hole in the foot of distance separating the two of them. Molly was shaking.

"You don't!" she protested. "You couldn't possibly understand what's happening, and I don't blame you for hating me right now. But please, let me sit down and we can talk-"

"No," Lily said stiffly. She was already backing away, reaching for the door handle. "I think that you've explained enough, thanks. I learned more from watching you stick your tongue down Louis' throat than I have in this last minute."

Molly made a gasping sound, as if Lily had socked her in the chest. Her eyes filled with tears. Lily couldn't help but think of all the times she looked in those eyes before. The night Al and Rose had not come home. Holidays at the Burrow. Birthday after birthday, weddings, funerals, when she had lost her first tooth...

"Please," Molly whispered. "Please, Lily. Just five minutes."

And Lily hesitated. She hesitated for all those times that she had seen those eyes and for all those times when Molly had given her five minutes. She hesitated for when she had jumped to conclusions with Scorpius. For a moment, Lily was ready to listen. And then she saw Louis wrap his arms around Molly's waist, as casually as breathing, and the urge to vomit hit her like a wave.

"I don't think so," she said shortly.

She turned on her heel to leave, kicking open the door to the hallway. Molly trailed her to the living room, shouting at her desperately.

"Please, Lily! I just need to-" She stumbled, fetching up on a loose edge of a rug. She was losing ground, and both of them knew it. So Molly played her trump card. "I know what you came to talk to me about!"

Lily froze. She turned around slowly, her heart pounding in her chest. Molly still looked desperate, but Lily could see the triumphant look in her eyes. Molly truly knew what she had come to ask her about. It was written there, all over her face. Lily scowled.

"How?"

"Your dad," Molly said by-way of explanation. "He told me about a week ago that you would probably ask me about the pensieve." She was talking quickly, her words tumbling over one another as she rushed to get them out. "Uncle Harry said that you would be convincing, and most likely desperate. He also told me that under no circumstances should I tell you where it is."

"Then why," Lily said carefully, "are you telling me all of this?"

Her cousin gave her a pointed look.

Lily immediately understood the bargain. Molly knew exactly where the pensieve was, but had no intention of telling her unless she listened to the whole story about what was happening between her and Louis. And while Lily still had the sudden urge to be sick all over her cousin's pristine white couches, she also knew that they needed the pensieve more than almost anything else. She knew exactly what Rose would want her to do right now.

And not for the first time, she decided to go with what Rose would have done. "Alright, then. You have five minutes to explain whatever the hell you want to tell me to justify this, and then you tell me the location of the pensieve. Understood?"

Molly slumped against the wall in relief. "Understood. Lily..." She hesitated, biting her lip. "Thanks."

"Don't bother," Lily said coldly, moving to sit on one of the couches. "I'm not doing this for you." Molly, who had automatically moved to sit beside her, stood stunned for a moment before continuing to the other couch across from her. Louis, who had entered the room in a rumpled state but free of lipstick marks, sat down next to her. Lily flinched.

"Do you love her?" she asked abruptly. It was something that had been bothering her for the last little while, and in her straight-forward nature, it had slipped out before she could stop it. Molly caught her breath.

"We all love each other, Lily," she said evenly. It took all of Lily's self control not to roll her eyes and laugh in her cousin's face.

"Not like that." Lily crossed her arms. "You know what I mean, Louis. I want to hear you say it." She met his green eyes, so unlike that of his siblings. Unique, and different. She had always admired them, but now looking at them just made her want to cry. Louis didn't hesitate a second.

"Yes, I do."

She had been expecting it, but it still made her flinch. She shook her head, trying to force the tears back. "Don't you feel guilty? Don't you hate yourselves somedays?" Her words were harsh, and Molly winced back. Good.

"Lily, you still don't-" Molly broke off with a pained expression. "No. I don't feel guilty." Louis' hand tightened on hers. And that was when Lily lost it.

"Can't you see yourselves?" she demanded, jumping to her feet. Her heart slammed painfully in her chest, and her throat felt tight. "Look at you! It's disgusting!"

Molly had tears in her eyes. "I-"

"Don't you _get_ it?" Lily exploded. She could feel her fists shaking at her sides. "There is no way to justify this! You're both sick, and you need a lot of help. Can you imagine what Aunt Fleur would say? Uncle Percy?"

"Lily." This time it was Louis who spoke, and his voice was hard. He had an arm wrapped firmly around Molly, who had silent tears running down her face. "Stop it."

Lily actually did laugh this time. "Exactly what I was going to say to the two of you." She shook her head. "Merlin, I _grew up_ with the two of you. All this time you were probably all over one another, never even considering that your family-"

"I'm adopted!" Louis shouted.

The room fell painfully silent. Lily was aware of her heart kicking into overdrive, and her mind was working feverishly to comprehend the words. Louis was almost painfully calm, his hands knitting together in his lap. Lily drew a shaky breath.

"That's impossible," she said shortly, as if he had just suggested that hippogriffs didn't exist. "Aunt Fleur never said-"

"Yeah." This time his voice sounded bitter, as if he had just been sucking on a lemon. "She didn't say much to me either at first. But the shock will wear off in a month or two."

"I don't understand." Lily stared at him hard. "You're adopted?"

He almost smiled. "Is it that hard to believe? Think about it, Lily. How often have people told me I looked like my parents? My siblings?"

Lily sat completely still, shocked. _He's right_, she realized with a pang. _Wasn't I just noticing how different his eyes looked a moment ago? And his hair... it's not red or blonde, like his mum and dad. It's brown. He doesn't even have the genes for brown!_

"Lily?" Molly peered at her anxiously. Her eyes were red, and she wiped at them hastily. "I know that it's a lot to take in at first. Are you alright?"

Looking at her wide eyes, Lily wanted desperately to believe her. More than anything, she wanted to take comfort in the fact that her cousins were not entirely unjustified in their actions, no matter how bizarre the situation might seem. And yet, there was one more thing that was still bothering her...

"How long?" she asked quietly. The room seemed especially still. "How long were you two together like that?" She noticed neither of them would look at her, and she raised her voice. "Was it before or after, Molly? Did you do it before or after you knew that Louis was adopted?"

"Before," Molly whispered. The hurt look was back. "It was before. But Lily, I swear-"

"Your five minutes are up." Lily jumped to her feet, looking at the two of them in disgust. "I think I've heard enough." She turned towards the fireplace, grabbing a fistful of floo powder. "Now it's my turn. Where's the pensieve?"

This time it was Louis that spoke. "Lily-"

"No!" she snapped. She might have covered her ears if she had both hands free. "I told you that I would listen, and I did! Great, you're happy together. I get it. Now tell me where the damn pensieve is so that I can leave."

"Neville's office." Molly sounded choked, and she broke out of Louis' embrace to move towards the fireplace. "But please, Lily-"

"I won't tell," Lily said coldly. "Not about any of it. But this-" She waved her hand between the two of them. "This is a problem. It's bigger than the both of you."

Molly lurched forwards. "_Lily_-"

"Hogwarts," she said bitterly. And she threw the powder down.

o.O.o

A/N: Okay, so obviously that's a heavy topic to deal with, and you can feel free to flood me with hate mail. But before you do, please know that I thought that the Molly-Louis plot line was necessary for later on, and while the situation is complicated and messy, they are technically _not related_.

Just wanted to point that out :)

Review?


	23. Splitting a Heart

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _Again, sorry for not updating sooner! School has become a constant companion, however unwanted it might be. To the anonymous person who requested a chapter for their birthday last week, I apologize that my fingers cannot write fast enough to keep up with my brain. I hope that this update makes up for it!

o.O.o

Lily wasn't sure what the worst part was; discovering that Molly and Louis were together, or the fact that she had really known where the pensieve was all along. Hadn't she seen it in the office just minutes before? The shallow stone basin that sat so innocently in the corner was the key to solving all of their problems, and she had let it slip out of her grasp as easily as smoke in a bare fist.

Of course, the hardest part could have easily been trying to keep the price she had paid for the information a secret from her other cousins.

"So Molly just _told_ you where the pensieve was?" Roxanne demanded yet again, shaking her head. "No questions asked. She just gave out top secret information because she felt like it."

Lily sighed. The three girls were sitting in their dormitory, each sitting cross-legged on their respective beds. Lily had relayed the story of her visit to Molly, making some minor adjustments in order to keep the part about Louis a secret. She felt horrible lying to her cousins yet again, but what choice did she have, really? As Scorpius had demonstrated, the truth hurt. And it wasn't just going to hurt Molly and Louis.

"I told you, Rox," she said, mentally counting to ten. "My dad was the one who moved it. Molly felt like as his daughter, I had a right to know."

Roxanne looked absolutely floored. "Yeah, but it's _Molly_. She could probably recite the entire Hogwarts rule book. And then a bunch of Ministry laws."

"Can't most people?" Lucy asked, glancing up from her book. Her expression was one of total surprise, as if the idea of one not knowing the laws word-for-word was an impossibility. Roxanne snorted.

"Exactly my point." She was twining her long, dark hair into plaits thoughtfully. "You and Molly are the last people who would ever break a rule, aside from Uncle Percy. Maybe Molly-"

"Look, could we just drop it?" Lily shifted uncomfortably on her bed, twisting her hands together. Seeing Roxanne's look of surprise, she shrugged defensively. "I mean, yes, it's odd, alright? But she told me where it is, and that's what's important."

"I guess you're right," Roxanne said slowly, though Lily could tell that the subject was far from dropped. "What matters now is actually finding out what's _in_ the pensieve. Which means that we have to get into Professor Longbottom's office again."

"Right." Lily nodded. "I thought the same thing. Unfortunately," she continued bitterly, "neither Al or Hugo is for it."

"Why not?" Lucy frowned, peering over the edge of her book. Seeing Lily's incredulous expression, she elaborated. "I mean, we've already broken into the restricted section, gotten ahold of veritaserum and sent people into Knockturn Alley. This can't possibly be any worse."

Lily, who was a little surprised that Lucy was advocating for an idea like this, bit her lip. "It wouldn't be, but Professor Longbottom noticed some things that I moved in his desk while looking for floo powder. Don't worry," she added, seeing both of her cousins immediate looks of horror, "he has no idea who did it. But the security on his office has tripled at least. It'll be difficult to get past the barriers."

"And Hugo and Al don't want you to take the risk," Lucy surmised, nodding as if it all made sense. "They know that you would want to be the one to do it." Roxanne raised an eyebrow in Lily's direction.

"Do you want me to convince them, Lils?"

The way that she said the word _convince_ made Lily think that her fists were going to be doing the talking. She shook her head, causing red curls to fall into her eyes. She blew them away impatiently. "No, it's fine. They'll come round once they talk to Rose."

"What about Scorpius?" Lucy asked, her eyes still scanning the pages while she spoke. She turned one over mildly. "What does he say?"

"He's against it." The words tasted sour in Lily's mouth, and she swallowed. She could still see the way he had looked at her, as if the matter were already decided. Git. "He's throwing his weight behind Al."

"And Talc?" Again, Lucy's eyes were fixed on her book, although Lily noticed that they weren't moving anymore. "Is he against it too?"

"I didn't mention it to him." Lily squinted at her cousin suspiciously. The tips of her ear's were definitely red. "I didn't think that there was any reason too."

"Oh, I see," Roxanne said, a devious light entering her eyes. "He's more of the shut-up-and-kiss-me type, is he?" She nodded thoughtfully. "That would explain the hickey, too."

"Roxanne!" Lily was mortified. She shot an embarrassed look in Lucy's direction. As she had guessed, Lucy was biting her lip. She appeared to be refusing to make eye contact with either of them. Lily turned back to scowled at her other cousin. "I didn't tell him because I thought that it would be better to keep this between as few people as possible. _Not_ because I was too busy snogging the living daylights out of him."

"It is true, then?" There was an eager light in Roxanne's eyes, and Lily could tell that her cousin had wanted to bring this up for a while. "Teen Witch Weekly is right about your broom-closet rendezvous's?"

Lily wrinkled her nose. "Come on, Rox. Broom closets are filled with spiders and dust. Not exactly a romantic location."

Roxanne waved her hand impatiently. "Okay, so your secret meetings can happen in the forest or something instead. The question remains; are you two together?"

Lily, who had winced when Roxanne mentioned the forest, felt her heart jump to her throat. This had been exactly what she was afraid of happening. She bit her lip, flexing her hands anxiously. Were she and Talc together? No, she knew that for sure. They were most definitely not. But Talc had lied and said that they were to protect her. Did that mean that she had to lie too?

She realized belatedly that Roxanne was still waiting eagerly for her answer. The decision leapt from her mouth before she could stop it. "Yes," she blurted automatically, mentally kicking herself. "Yes, we're together. I guess." She flinched.

Roxanne squealed, clapping her hands together. She was practically bouncing on her bed in delight. Lucy, on the other hand, Lily noted in dismay, looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh." Her voice was tiny. "Oh! I mean, congratulations." She looked like she was trying to smile, only all she could manage was a grimace. "Your first boyfriend. Wow."

"Second," Roxanne corrected her, completely oblivious to Lucy's pained look. "She dated Blackthorne in third year."

"Stop it!" Lily groaned, flopping onto her stomach. She buried her face in her pillow, trying her best to block out her cousin's smug expression. "Is this rag on Lily day? Because right now, I really want to kill you, Rox." Her voice came out muffled by the pillow, making her words sound less intimidating. She could tell that Roxanne was grinning when she spoke.

"My bad. It's just not every day that little Lily-flower has a boyfriend, you know?"

Lily sat up. She could feel her hair sticking up in random directions all over her head. "Are you saying that I'm too unattractive to get a guy?"

Roxanne, who appeared to be trying very hard not to look at her hair, adopted a sober expression. "No. I'm just saying that this is cause for celebration. Right, Luce?"

Lily was horrified to watch Roxanne turn to face Lucy, an expectant look on her face. Lucy looked frozen. The hand that clutched the book was turning white. "Right," she said tightly. She offered them that half-grimace again. "It's just..." She bit her lip. "I just thought that Lily wasn't interested in Talc."

Roxanne snorted. Lily could tell that she was opening her mouth to say something along the lines of _her hickey says different_, so she interrupted. "Why would you think that?" she asked hurriedly. Her heart had picked up rhythm. "That I'm not interested, I mean."

"Well..." Lucy broke off, and Lily could see a flush creeping up her neck. "I thought that you fancied Scorpius, actually."

She met Lily's gaze, her grey eyes steady. Lily sucked in a sharp breath. There was a string of profanity going through her head, along with some panicked rationalizing. Did Lucy know about the kiss? Or was she just guessing? Her cousin was one of the most observant people that she knew, and coupled with the fact that she apparently fancied Talc, Lily was almost certain that Lucy could see right through her. She swallowed.

"I care a lot about Scorpius," she said evenly, trying to sound nonchalant. "I also care a lot about Talc." There. It was the truth. Lucy looked at her suspiciously, but luckily said no more and returned to her book. Roxanne rolled her eyes.

"What book has you so fascinated, Lu?" She leapt to the other girl's bed nimbly, settling in beside her. "_Possessions 101_," she read aloud, frowning. "Bit of light reading, then?"

"Are you still working on the same project?" Lily asked, also moving to crowd onto Lucy's bed. She gave her cousin a quizzical look. "It's been almost a month. They had better give you a gold star on your report."

"It's nothing." Lucy, to Lily's surprise, flushed a bright red. She quickly buried the book beneath her pillow. "I'm just interested now, that's all."

"In possessions?" This struck Lily as odd. Lucy had never shown interest in anything remotely dangerous to others. The most harm Lily could ever remember her cousin doing was uprooting a mandrake in their second year, and even then she had cried after. Dealing with dark subjects was not in her nature.

And yet...

What if it wasn't for a project at all? What if it had never been for a project?

Roxanne seemed to be thinking along similar lines. "You hate dark magic," she announced, shaking her head. "Remember the time in second year? With the mandrakes?"

Lucy looked affronted. "I was twelve!"

"So were the rest of us." Roxanne crossed her arms over her chest. "Come on, Lu. Who are you doing this for?"

Something about those words struck a nerve with Lily. _Who are you doing this for?_ It made sense that Lucy was doing the research for someone else. It was in her giving nature to set aside all personal feelings in order to help a friend or a family member. And yet... Lily couldn't imagine who Lucy would think researching possessions could help.

_Unless..._

_ It's me._

The thought hit her like a ton of bricks, and she couldn't help but gasp. The idea seemed impossible, and yet... She definitely had been acting on edge lately, enough that Lucy would have surely noticed. And now that the locket was gone, left behind in their scramble to escape Knockturn Alley, they had run out of ideas as to what might be causing it. Could Lucy have toyed with the idea that Lily was being possessed?

She looked at her cousin's worried eyes. The flush, though faded, could still be seen on her cheeks. Yes, Lily thought in dismay. She would have considered that almost immediately.

Which brought about another important question.

Was she being possessed?

"Yes," Lucy said softly. It took Lily a moment to realize that she was answering Roxanne's earlier question, and she blinked, startled out of her thoughts. Lucy bit her lip. "I'm doing this for someone, and it's me. I'm interested, alright Rox? Is that so hard to believe?"

Her eyes were wide, almost hurt. Roxanne sighed heavily. "I guess not," she conceded. "You've probably run out of other things to research by now, anyways."

There was a moment of tense silence. Then Lucy cracked a smile. Roxanne grinned. And Lily found herself laughing, soon joined by her other two cousins. And for a moment, while the three of them were laughing, Lily could almost believe that nothing had changed.

Almost.

o.O.o

"Talc!"

Lily hurried down the corridor, ignoring the whispers of milling students nearby. Many had taken the Teen Witch Weekly article as permission to begin their gossiping, and to Lily's growing irritation, random groups of students would now pause to gawk at her as she rushed to her classes. She had almost run over a terrified clump of first-years in her haste to get to Charms on time.

"Talc!" She felt a twinge of annoyance, and she shoved a startled Hufflepuff aside as she ran after the tall figure ahead of her. "Oi, captain! Quidditch star. Secret Slytherin love-affair of mine."

To her amusement, he actually turned around at that. His gold eyes were not impressed. "Secret Slytherin love-affair?" he echoed. Lily shrugged.

"Not my choice of words. I'm just quoting the prophet. Hey," she said, frowning as she sped up to match his strides. "Where are you hurrying off to?"

He didn't miss a beat. "Class."

"Right." Lily frowned, glancing at her watch. They still had another fifteen minutes before class began. "And I'm all for being punctual, but can you spare thirty seconds to talk to me?"

"We are talking," he grunted, never slowing. Lily scowled.

"No," she said, dodging around a wide-eyed pack of Ravenclaws. "I'm talking, and you're sprinting down the corridor like a banshee's chasing you."

"Am not," he muttered half-heartedly. Lily shook her head.

"Are too." She stuck out her tongue. "Come on, Talc. I've put up with Albus and James all my life, and Hugo is my best friend. Do you really think I can't tell when a guy's sulking?"

Talc was startled enough to look at her. His odd gold eyes were offended. "I am not _sulking_."

"Alright, you're brooding, then," Lily corrected, waving her hand dismissively. "Whatever. The point is-" She broke off exasperatedly, moving again to skirt around a group of third-years. "Look, can we just stop and talk?"

He hesitated. She could see it, just for a moment, in his eyes. He wanted to talk, and oh, he wanted it badly. But there was some part of him that was... nervous? No, Lily thought in confusion. He was resigned. Like he knew what was coming, but couldn't do a thing about it.

"It's like when you get the bludger, but you're already too late," she said aloud unthinkingly. Her eyes flicked across his face. "That's what you look like right now. Like it's already over." Talc blinked in confusion. She noticed that his stride faltered a little.

"Er, what?"

"Nothing." She shrugged, immediately embarrassed. "Forget it, then. I can tell that you've already made up your mind on whatever it is that you've decided. So I guess there's no point in talking, is there?"

This time, he actually did stop. He wheeled around to look at her, an almost guilty expression on his face. "Lily-"

"It's alright." She shrugged again, trying to keep her voice neutral. "If you want to avoid me forever, that's fine. I can just talk to a brick wall instead, or something."

"Not funny," Talc said, although she swore that he was trying not to smile. He blew out an exasperated breath. "Look, I'm not trying to avoid you. I just-" He paused briefly, taking a breath. "It was just hard for me to lay it all out there, and have you shut me down. You didn't even think about it."

"Oh." Lily blinked. That had not been what she was expecting at all. She noticed vaguely that several clumps of students had sidled closer to hear their conversation, and she battled with the urge to run away. That was something she really had to avoid, for Talc's sake. "Oh. I- er, I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

_Was _he offended? Was that what this was? Lily tried to read his expression, but her attention was diverted by the growing crowd. Talc seemed completely oblivious to their spectators. "Yeah, well it sort of sucked to hear that you preferred someone like Malfoy over me," he said bluntly, making Lily flinch. "It was a bit of a blow to the pride."

"Oh." Lily really wished she could think of something more intelligent to say. "Oh. Talc, I'm really-" She cut off abruptly. _Sorry_, she had been about to say. But was she sorry? Not really, she admitted to herself. She liked Talc well enough, but it would have been unfair to both of them if she had dated him. And she bet that if he really thought about it, Talc would find that he didn't like her nearly as much as he thought he did. She tried again. "Talc, I wish things could have worked out differently. If certain things didn't happen, and if I'd met you sooner-"

"Stop." Talc held up a hand abruptly, closing his eyes. He tried something like a brave smile. "We've been through this already. Don't make me do it twice."

Lily could feel a lump growing in her throat. "Okay," she whispered. She tried something like a smile, too. "Okay."

A silence fell between them, broken only by the faint buzz of their nearby spectators. She found that she couldn't look at him, and from what she could tell, he wasn't having much luck either. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and tried again. "If I could undo it all, I would. I mean, I never meant for you to get caught up in this. _Any_ of this." She shook her head. "Talc, you have to believe me, if I could redo it and rewind time-"

"I wouldn't," he interrupted her. Seeing her confused expression, he elaborated. "I wouldn't change any of it, not for anything. Lily, I've gained so much in these past couple of months. Loyalty, friendships, experience..." He hesitated, meeting her gaze. "_You_."

She felt her breath catch. She could feel her heart tearing in her chest. "I didn't think it would ever be this hard," she admitted quietly. He nodded.

"I know."

The way he said it - so certain and resigned to his fate - made her eyes sting with sudden tears. She wiped at them hastily. "I can understand if you hate me right now and don't want to listen to a word I say," she said hoarsely, "but trust me when I tell you that one day, a girl's going to be very lucky to have you."

He stared at her for several moments. Their eyes met, and she could feel her own eyes burning again. His smile was faint when he spoke. "Lily Potter, you're a piece of work."

"So I've been told," she laughed, though it sounded choked even to her own ears. "I can never seem to manage to keep any friends. The only people who will be seen with me in public are my cousins."

"And me," Talc reminded her gently. "I'm not giving up on you yet. Friends is better than nothing, right?"

"Right." Lily smiled, though her eyes still felt a little puffy. "And who knows, maybe one day- when I've had a chance to figure things out-"

"No," Talc interrupted firmly, though his tone was still soft. "You couldn't, and you know it. Not with Scorpius around." They locked gazes again, and he smiled sadly. "I can't tell who you're trying to make feel better right now; me or yourself."

Lily hesitated. "Both," she said truthfully.

The students were pressing closer now, and she realized for the first time what this must look like. They were all whispering excitedly, gesturing between her red eyes and Talc's withdrawn frame. Words like _break-up _and _show-down _vibrated through the corridor. An idea suddenly began to form in her mind, a brilliant, wonderful solution, that happened to go along conveniently with their current situation.

Of course, it wasn't exactly the most sensitive approach. But it would have to do.

"Talc," she said, leaning in until their voices were barely audible over the excited chatter of the students. "I know that I've, ah, asked a lot of you already, but-" She bit her lip, wondering how best to phrase it. "I was wondering if you could-"

"Stage a break-up?" Talc guessed. Seeing her expression of surprise, he smiled wryly. "Come on, Lily. Even I know you well enough to spot one of your mad plans when I see it."

"Point taken." Lily shifted nervously. "So, will you? I mean, you don't have to. But with all the rumours going around, I thought it would be better if we could just..."

"Make a clean break?" he suggested. She nodded reluctantly. To her surprise, he grinned. "Why not? Let's give Hogwarts something to talk about."

Lily felt a relieved smile break out over her face. "Thank-you," she whispered. He nodded.

"Let's do this, then."

Lily was about to open her mouth to start shouting, but Talc beat her to the punch. Raising himself up with fury she didn't know he possessed, he began to back away from her, talking loudly as he did so.

"Merlin, it's like I don't even know you anymore!" His voice carried down the hall, causing various students to stop and turn to face him with looks of excitement on their faces. Bingo. Talc continued with dogged determination. "Do you think that it's easy for me, Lily, to wait around for someone like you?"

"Someone like me?" she echoed heatedly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, please." He gave her a steely look. "Your Harry Potter's daughter. Don't pretend like you don't know exactly how famous you are."

"That doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"The hell it doesn't!" Talc glared at her. "It has everything to do with this! The famous Lily Potter, easily charming her way through life. Well, the last time I checked, that doesn't do a damn good _here. _Do you think that I don't wish every day that you might actually put some _effort_ into this relationship?"

"I do!" Lily was momentarily too stung to remember that they weren't actually fighting. She scowled at him, putting her hands on her hips. "That's not fair, and you know it. I try twice as hard as you-"

"You don't give a damn!" Talc laughed incredulously, irritating her further. "The only thing you're trying is every other guy in Hogwarts."

Okay, that was a low blow, and both of them knew it. Lily was definitely angry now, despite the fact that they had never actually been in a relationship in the first place. Currently, that seemed a lot like a minor detail. "Only because you're throwing yourself at everything in a skirt! Tell me, big shot, how's Porella Yaxley doing lately?"

She wasn't sure why she chose Porella. Maybe it was because Porella was universally accepted as a gorgeous girl, and Lily had wanted to choose someone generic. But more likely, as she had to reluctantly admit, she was still upset that Scorpius and Porella had some sort of friendship going on, and so Porella was the first name to come to mind.

Whatever the reason, Talc looked offended. More offended than she would have thought a comment like that would merit. "Don't be daft," he said shortly. "You know that I only care about you."

"Yeah?" Lily tossed her hair defiantly. "And how do I know that?"

"Because I love you!"

The students seemed to suck in a collective gasp. Lily almost fell over. The L word. He had dropped the _L word_. That had not been in the plan. Not that they had discussed any plans exactly, but she had sort of assumed that declaring one's love would be out of the question.

And there he was, staring at her with a mix of hope and resentment, and she wondered how much was acting and how much was really him. Lily bit her lip. She could feel her throat closing up when she spoke. More than anything, she wanted to run away, to turn and never look back. But these last months had aged her many years, and so she stood her ground.

"It's over, Talc," she said softly, her heart breaking. "I don't want to see you any more. Not ever again. Do you understand?"

She could hear the students watching nearby whispering excitedly to their neighbours. Waiting for Talc's reply. _She _was waiting for Talc's reply. When he looked up at her, his odd gold eyes were filled with an expression that Lily had never seen before; a sort of yearning of someone who's last hope had been crushed. It broke her heart all over again.

"Fine," he said roughly. "Okay, whatever. Fine."

Lily wasn't sure if she could manage words, and so she nodded. "Fine," she repeated. "What we had- it's done." She could have sworn he almost smiled, but there was pain in his eyes when he spoke.

"I know," he said softly. "I know, Lily."

o.O.o

_A/N: _Surprisingly, none of you really had a problem with the whole Louis and Molly plot line, though many of you did comment of the lack of Lily/Scorpius interaction. And, unfortunately, I've done it again to you. _However_, I promise that the next chapter is pretty much dedicated to the two of them.

So, yeah.

Please review!


	24. Lilium Ignis

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _I'm not going to say much except that I'm sorry for not updating faster, but that as you will hopefully discover, this chapter is fairly important and needed more time. That being said, I predict that it will become a favourite :)

o.O.o

"No." Albus shook his head, crossing his arms in the classic protective-brother stance. "There is absolutely no way. You could get hurt."

Lily sighed, rubbing her temples. "Al-"

"No!" His voice was surprisingly sharp. "Merlin, Lily. When are you going to learn that you can't just go galavanting off whenever it fits your fancy?"

She winced, feeling the words pierce her skin. The six of them - minus Lucy, as per usual - sat outside under a large oak tree, cramped close together in a patch of dry grass devoid from melting snow. May had been unseasonably warm, a nice change from the bone-chilling cold that she had grown used to. Of course, Lily still felt cold a lot of the time. Sometimes, lying awake at night in the warm dormitory, she could feel it. Like a slow chill, she could feel it crawl up her flesh and into her bones, freezing her where she lay. A sense of something to come.

"Can we just talk about this rationally?" she asked, shifting so that she was lying against the base of the tree. "Molly said the pensieve was in Professor Longbottom's office, right?" They all nodded reluctantly. She blew out a breath. "So it's literally _right around the corner_! I could be in and out within five minutes, no harm done."

"Don't be an idiot." Hugo snorted, turning to raise an eyebrow at her. "It's a pensieve holding invaluable memories of the first war, Lilsy. Neville's not just going to leave it unguarded as a trust exercise."

"For once, I'm going to agree with troll-brains, here." Lily shivered as she felt Scorpius's breath hit the back of her neck. She hadn't realized that they had been sitting so close. "I think you've had your run, Potter. Between Knockturn Alley and traveling across London by night, I would say that it's time you settle down. Read a book, or something. Paint your nails. I don't really care."

Lily bit her lip. An unwelcome feeling of hurt was creeping into the pit of her stomach. "Do none of you think I'm capable? Is that what this is?"

"No!" Across from her, Rose looked alarmed. "Of course we think that you're capable, Lily. It's just that- er, you're sort of hot headed some of the time. I'm not saying that's a bad thing!" she continued, raising her hands when she saw Lily's expression. "It comes in handy when we have to make decisions quickly. But if we went in there - and I'm not saying that we should - then we would need a plan. A solid, concrete one."

Lily blew out an exasperated breath, brushing aside her hair impatiently. "Rox," she appealed, turning in her cousin's direction. "You've been awfully quiet. What do you think?"

She tried not to hold her breath. Roxanne was the wild card. Lily could see it going both ways; her cousin loved any idea of stirring up trouble, and yet she was not one to put someone she loved in danger.

"I think-" Roxanne broke off, hesitating. Lily saw a sudden flare of excitement in her eyes. "I think that I'm going with you."

There was a ripple of agitation through the group. Hugo groaned, slapping a hand to his head. "Brilliant," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "That's right. Just in case Lily has problems making stupid decisions on her own, we'll send _you_ along as well! Just bloody brilliant."

Rose shot her brother a scornful look. "Hugo," she admonished, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "Stop it. You're being rude."

"_Thank_-you," Lily said pointedly, glaring at Hugo. "I'm glad someone agrees with me."

"Oh. Erm." Rose scratched the back of her neck, suddenly looking sheepish. "I don't, actually. I agree with Hugo. It's just sort of an older-sister habit that I yell at him, you know?"

Lily groaned, burying her face in her hands. "So none of you want to do anything? You want to sit around and do nothing?"

"I didn't say that I wanted to do nothing." Again, it was Scorpius, his voice low and husky in her ear. She resisted the urge to shiver. "In fact, I was just about to suggest that I could be the one to-"

"No!" Lily whirled around, momentarily forgetting how close they were sitting. "If I don't- oh." She cut off abruptly, blinking as she met Scorpius's cool blue eyes. "I- um. What were you saying, again?"

There was a note of amusement in his voice when he spoke. "Apparently nothing all that interesting."

"You're not going either, Scorpius." It took Lily a moment to realize that Rose was speaking, and with great reluctance she pulled herself away from Scorpius's gaze to look at her cousin. Rose looked mad enough to spit nails. "Do you know what happened last time we sent you off on some crazy mission? You came back almost dead because some guy tried to kill you!"

Lily looked at her cousin steadily. "That wasn't Scorpius's fault."

"No," Roxanne agreed helpfully. "Generally it's the crazy shopkeeper's, isn't it?"

"It was mine," Lily continued, never breaking eye contact with Rose. "My fault, I mean. I should have been more careful." She felt a twinge of guilt go through the pit of her stomach, but held her head high. Rose scowled.

"You're right," she said bluntly. "It was your fault." There was no trace of an apology or forgiveness in her voice, only a deep irritation.

Albus frowned. "Rose-"

"No!" the redhead snapped. "She almost got him killed because of her silly whining!"

The whole circle seemed to still. Lily froze, feeling her heart stop. A whole horde of ugly emotions raced through her, crawling beneath her skin like ants breaking from a nest. She felt a sudden comforting pressure on her lower back and realized that Scorpius had slid a hand under the hem of her tee-shirt.

"Rose," he said quietly. "Don't. I mean it."

"Well, she almost did." Rose screwed up her face, glaring at Lily. She could feel it cut straight to her heart. "Have none of the rest of you noticed that she's always causing us problems? She's rash, and impulsive. She acts way younger than she really is! It's a _liability_."

Lily felt something sting at the back of her eyes. "Rose-"

"No!" Her cousin plowed on, clearly gathering a second wind. "I'm sick of cleaning up all of your messes for you, Lily! First with the fight at Christmas, then with the veritaserum-" She broke off, crossing her arms. "Who was the reason that you both had to go into Knockturn Alley at all, hmm? Who was it?"

Lily made something like a choked sound. "I-"

"_Rose_." This time it was Scorpius that spoke, his voice like a whip crack in the silence. "Stop it!" His hand went higher now, rubbing circles on her spine. "Can't you see that you're hurting her?"

Rose sucked in a sharp breath. "I didn't mean-"

"Go." Scorpius's voice was hard. "Go, right now, Rose." His grip tightened on Lily's back, but it was warm and she leaned against his knees gratefully. Scorpius traced a few more circles, but his eyes never left Rose's, and his body was tense.

Rose seemed to really look around for the first time, noting each of their faces. Hugo was staring at his sister with a look of disgust, and Roxanne made no secret of how pissed-off she was, either. Only Albus managed to maintain some composure.

"Rose," he said tightly, looking at her pale, pinched face. "I think we need to go for a walk. Come on."

He clambered to his feet, nudging her roughly with his shoulder. "Let's go."

She nodded numbly, allowing herself to be led away. She turned to look at Lily one more time over her shoulder, opening her mouth as if to say something before deciding better of it. Lily watched her go with a mix of emotions, the most prominent one being an open wound of hurt.

"You alright?" Scorpius asked. The words were low, whispered in her ear. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Scorpius sighed. "Lily-"

"What's gotten her knickers in a twist?" Hugo demanded loudly, breaking through their silent conversation. He was staring after Rose with a mixture of disbelief and anger. "She just flew off the handle! Did nobody else notice that she just went completely mad?"

This was met with a ringing silence. They all wore equally puzzled expressions, trying to sort through whatever had just happened. Lily's own mind was going a hundred miles and hour, struggling to figure out what had set her cousin over the edge. Had it been that she truly was a liability? She didn't think so. Rose wouldn't have yelled at her about something like that, and certainly not in public. Then what had she yelled at her about? They had been talking about Scorpius, and-

_Scorpius. _

Lily actually groaned aloud. She could have smacked herself. It had been so obvious, so painfully obvious from the very start. Images began to flash through her mind, one after the other. Rose, throwing everything she had into advocating for not using the veritaserum. Rose, in tears when they did. The bitterness in her voice when they talked after New Year's. The way that she had asked about Scorpius first, when they arrived back from Knockturn Alley.

How everyone assumed that Scorpius and Rose were together.

They had all seen something that Lily had missed. Something vital. They had watched the way that Rose looked at him, her eyes full of happiness and hope, as if that one look held her heart-

She was in love with him. Rose was in love with Scorpius.

"What is it?" Hugo narrowed his eyes, squinting at Lily suspiciously. "You look like you're about to be sick. You figured something out, didn't you Lilsy?"

"I-" She bit her lip, averting her gaze. "Yeah. I think I understand now." All of a sudden, the warm hand on her back made her feel guilty and sick. She shook Scorpius off best she could, hopping to her feet. He looked confused for a moment, but quickly stood as well.

"And?"

His eyes were so blue, so heart-achingly innocent that she wanted to cry. It had taken her all this while to figure out that she, too, quite liked Scorpius. More than liked. And now she couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"Nothing." She tried to smile, rearranging her features into something resembling happiness. "Wanna go to lunch now? I'm starving."

Hugo and Roxanne wore identical worried expressions, both looking like they'd very much like to tackle her with one of those muggle thermometers. Scorpius, on the other hand, just _looked_. He studied her expression for a long time, staring past the point of comfort. Oddly, Lily found that she didn't mind.

"Er, should we go?" Roxanne asked awkwardly. "It sort of looks like you two want to jump one another. No offense," she added, noting the way that Lily's cheeks flared up, "but there seems to be some unresolved sexual tension there."

"_Rox_," Lily hissed, mortified. "Stop it!"

"We'll go ahead." Hugo grabbed Roxanne by the wrist, hauling her towards the castle. "Come on, Rox. I bet it's fish and chips today." He dragged her doggedly towards the doors, ignoring her loud and opinionated protests. Lily almost smiled. It reminded her of when they were younger.

"So." Scorpius studied her again, his eyes moving from her forehead down to her lips, and then back again. "What is it?"

"Scorpius," Lily said, feeling suddenly tired. "I don't want to talk about Rose right now."

"I wasn't talking about Rose." His blue eyes were suddenly soft. "I want to know about _you_, Lily. Something's bothering you. I can tell."

"It's just..." She glanced down, avoiding his gaze. "What is this, Scorpius? You and me. It's like half the time we're fighting, and the other time you're just throwing yourself in front of _curses_ to save me! And don't act like that little scene where you played with my tee-shirt over there- What?" she asked, looking up to see him staring at her. "What is it?"

He burst out laughing. It was such an odd reaction for Scorpius that Lily had to smile as well.

"Stop it!" she complained, still grinning reluctantly. "I'm trying to figure things out here!"

"I know," he said, wiping his eyes. They were shining with an amusement that she hadn't seen in a long time. "That's what I'm laughing at. You trying to 'figure things out'."

Lily sighed. "I'm a mess, aren't I? I'm over-thinking everything."

"Yeah, you are." Scorpius grinned, squeezing her shoulder. "So what do you say to meeting me in the garden tonight and you can stop thinking for a while?"

Something like butterflies began in the pit of her stomach. He couldn't mean- surely he didn't want... she bit her lip, wondering what to do. The old Lily would have run away immediately, never bothering to look back. But the new Lily?

Oh, the new Lily wanted it. And she wanted it badly.

"Okay." It came out as a squeak, and she winced, clearing her throat. "I mean, alright. I'll be there."

"Sounds perfect." He gave her one of those half-smiles. "Tonight, then, Potter. It's a date."

o.O.o

The night air was warm on her skin as she made her way across the garden, squinting in the moonlight to see the pathway. The delicate perfume of flowers drifted towards her, tickling her senses. Only the faint sounds of crickets could be heard. Without really thinking about it, Lily slipped off her shoes, opting instead to walk barefoot. She sighed in relief as her feet met grass wet with dew.

"Long night?"

She whirled around to find Scorpius looking at her, an odd expression in his blue eyes. It was similar to the one she had seen when he had spoke to her in french under the oak, and she blushed. Something about that look made her want to smile.

"Long year, more like." She continued her stroll through the endless hedges, slowing slightly to let him catch up. He did, matching her pace easily. She wondered idly if the Hospital Wing had made his reflexes any slower than normal after all, but shortly decided that most likely, it hadn't.

"Yeah. Me too." His grin was blinding white in the darkness. "Actually, it could have been worse. I can't complain."

Lily surprised herself by laughing. "Really? And here I thought that almost dying would have been enough for you."

His eyes held a spark of amusement. "Nah. I didn't mind that part."

They walked for another moment, Lily swinging her shoes at her side. The garden was peaceful, she mused. More peaceful than she had thought it would be. For the first time in months, she felt safe, surrounded by the beauty of endless rows of delicate petals and the scent of sweet roses. She was so busy marvelling at the sights that it took her a moment to realize that Scorpius was staring at her.

"What?" she asked, flushing. "You're looking at me again." The corners of his lips quirked.

"Nothing."

When he didn't shift his gaze, she felt her face begin to burn to dangerous levels. Deciding it was time for her to say something intelligent, she cast about for a topic. _Any_ topic. "You never finished that quiz in Teen Witch Weekly."

She could have smacked herself. _Brilliant topic, Lily_, she chided herself. _You're just so bloody brilliant. Bore him to death, why don't you?_

Scorpius looked faintly amused. "I didn't have to. Krum and I would never work out." Seeing her expression, he elaborated. "We both play a dominant position."

"You're not going to date him because you're both seekers?" Lily scoffed, taking a left as they reached a fork in the path. Scorpius smirked.

"No. I can't date him because we would both want the dominant position."

It took Lily a moment to understand. "_Scorpius_," she complained, trying not to laugh as she hit him on the shoulder. "That is so gross! I can't believe you thought- oh, forget it." She shuddered, wrapping her arms around her thick, knit sweater. "I can't believe you don't want to get together with him because you'd both want top."

There was a beat of silence. Scorpius studied her intently, his eyes sweeping over her face. "Actually," he said, clearing his throat. "There's another reason too."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess. You'd argue over who's prettier?"

"No." He looked like he was trying not to smile. "Because it wouldn't be fair to him. My heart's already taken." His eyes were especially blue as he looked at her, and they both stopped walking altogether.

Lily could feel her pulse spike, racing against her frantic heart. She tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "Oh?"

"Yeah." He ran a hair through his hair. "There's this one girl, and she's brilliant. Gorgeous, brave and funny. She's perfect. Only, I'm fairly certain that she thinks that I'm a bit of a tosser."

"She probably does," Lily agreed, trying to ignore the sudden giddiness soaring through her. "But she probably also thinks that you're pretty brilliant yourself."

"I wish she did." His smile turned suddenly sad, and his eyes were aching when he looked at her. "I thought she did for a while. But it turns out that she's dating another bloke. The Slytherin quidditch captain."

"She's not." Lily caught her breath, refusing to meet his eyes. "I don't think she ever was. People just said things that made her crazy, and everything got out of hand. I bet you she never forgot about you once." Her voice had faded to a whisper at the end. She could feel Scorpius's gaze burning into her, a warmth creeping slowly under her skin.

"Lily," he breathed. "Look at me."

She did. His face was all angles in the moonlight, fragile and strong at the same time. There were shadows under his cheekbones, giving him a gaunt and surreal look. She thought that if she were to touch him he might disappear.

"Lily," he murmured. "Can you honestly say that you hate me? That you don't want me? Because if you can, I will leave. I'll walk away and try damn hard to not look back. But if you say that you don't, that you could stay with me..." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. "I'll fight for you, Lily, I swear it. Every day for the rest of my life."

He smiled at her hopefully, and suddenly she felt dizzy and light-headed. It was everything in that moment. _He_ was everything. She drew a shaky breath, placing her palms on the hands of his chest.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

His hands trembled as he raised her chin, and he took in a nervous breath. Lily realized with a sudden clarity that this was the first time he had kissed her - _really_ kissed her - and even if he was too proud to admit it, Scorpius Malfoy was nervous. She could feel the uneven beat of his heart as she pressed her hand to his chest, urging him closer. The frantic thudding of his pulse was endearing, and she let her eyes flutter closed. Her own lips parted under the warm pressure of his.

It was the same experience as casting a spell, only a hundred times better. She could feel the magic and energy of it flowing through her, igniting her bones and grinding her down until she was nothing, nothing in this endless ocean of bliss. He smelled like spice and black pepper, a hard scent, but his lips were soft beneath hers. It was beautiful, and wonderful, and Lily just wanted it to never _end_.

Unfortunately, they both had to come up for oxygen at some point, and so she pulled away reluctantly.

They were both panting and out of breath, staring at one another in amazement. Scorpius's cheeks were flushed red, and his eyes were more alive than she had ever seen them. The way he was looking at her... It was as if she was everything too, in that moment. Like there was no one else.

"_Tu es plus belle que les étoiles_," he murmured. She bit her lip.

"What does that mean?"

"You are more beautiful than the stars." He grinned, taking her hand. "Come on, there's something that I wanted to show you."

Lily fell into step beside him, lacing her fingers through his. They fit perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle that had only just found one another. His fingers were rough and callused from quidditch playing, but she could feel their strength when he squeezed her hand.

"Here," he said, stopping to point at a tall plant. "I wanted you to see this."

Lily examined it closely. It was a beautiful flower for sure, the type that took your breath away. Long, red petals curled delicately outwards, streaks of gold and maroon shooting through. The inside was a fragile white. Vines wound down to their feet, sending out protective walls to shield itself from any outsiders. Lily caught her breath.

"What is it?"

"It's called _Lilium Ignis_." He touched a lock of her hair, pulling on it gently. "Translated from Latin, it means Lily Fire."

_Lily Fire_. Her eyes raked the plant again, pausing to look at it more carefully this time. The name fit it like a glove. She turned back to Scorpius, trying not to sound too impressed.

"Where did you find it?"

He shrugged. "I have my ways." He stuffed his hands casually in his pockets, and though he was putting on a good front, Lily could tell that he was still nervous. "What do you think?"

She tried not to smile. "Awfully cliche, don't you think?" Seeing his expression, she laughed. "I'm joking! I like it, Scorpius. I like it a lot."

"It reminds me of you, you know," he said thoughtfully, stooping to examine it. The reds were bold in the darkness. "When I first saw it, I thought of you immediately."

"Why?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "We're both delicate and sensitive?"

"No." His expression was unusually serious when he looked at her, and she caught her breath, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. Scorpius grinned. "You're both strong enough to stand the winter."

o.O.o

A/N: Comment and review please! Predictions? Ideas? Requests to see certain characters?

Just let me know!


	25. Doubts

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!

_A/N: _I sometimes wonder if anybody even reads these things. If not, then I guess that I'm speaking to myself, which is perfectly alright too. But if you are, thank-you for your continued patience! This chapter is dedicated to Anelya, whose birthday came too quickly for me to get a chapter up. This one's for you!

o.O.o

The first two weeks of May were a whirlwind for Lily. The days passed in a haze of bliss, filled with long walks and shared smiles. Never could she remember being so entirely happy, completely taken in by the joy of life. Even in her childhood, Lily had felt like something was missing. Some vital part of her that she couldn't understand. But with Scorpius, it was as if she was finally complete.

And yet...

Her problems never entirely left her. At night, visions of flames and screams still lingered, tearing at the shreds of sanity she held on to. The locket's destruction apparently hadn't changed her mental state, nor had it made it any easier for her to control her sudden mood-swings. Plus, there was the ever-present guilt of keeping her relationship with Scorpius a secret.

It was a right thorn in the side.

"I still feel badly," she admitted. It was a warm afternoon, the lazy kind where students ambled down to the lake or lay out in the shade of trees. She and Scorpius had sought refuge in the garden, lying down beneath a large bush of petunias. Her hand absently traced circles on his shoulder as she spoke, sorting through her thoughts. "About not telling the others, I mean. I feel like I'm lying to them."

"Exactly." He smirked. "I seem to remember telling you that we should mention it to Al before he figures it out for himself and chokes me to death in my sleep."

Lily sighed, propping herself up on one elbow to look at him. "It's not that."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were worried about my health and safety."

"Scorpius!" She bit her lip, torn between laughing and trying to stay serious. "Al wouldn't attack you and you know it. You're being melodramatic."

"Tell that to my corpse," he said solemnly.

She tried not to smile as she hit him on the shoulder, rolling on to her back again. The sky was a clear blue today, the type where not even a single cloud could be seen for miles. Somewhere to her left, she could hear bird calls in the distance. A warm breeze fluttered the skirt of her uniform.

"What is it, then?" It took her a moment to realize that Scorpius was studying her intently, his eyes sweeping over her face. "You said, 'that's not it'. You're worried about something."

"I'm always worried about something," she tried, smiling. Seeing his unchanging expression, she sighed. "Oh, I don't know. I guess I'm worried that I'm already keeping too much from them. If I lie about this, then what can I be honest about?" An image of Molly and Louis flashed in her mind and she winced, closing her eyes. She heard Scorpius let out a long breath.

"So you do want to tell them then?"

"Of course I do." Lily opened her eyes reluctantly, turning her head to look at him again. "But I learned my lesson with the last time I was rumoured to be in a relationship, Scorpius. I can't do that again; all the stares, and the whispers..." She broke off, clearing her throat. "I trust my family completely, but I can't trust anyone that might over hear. Someone might find out, and I can't- I can't _ruin_ this."

She felt almost embarrassed admitting that last part, and she averted her eyes again. She felt a warm pressure as Scorpius took her hand and squeezed it. "You can't ruin it. I'm not going anywhere." When she didn't respond, he sighed and pulled her against him. His arms circled around her waist. "I meant what I said before, Lily. I'm not giving up on this."

They sat like that in silence for a moment, listening to the distant laughter of students and the splash of water by the lake. Scorpius was running his thumb over her shoulder blade absentmindedly, sending shocks of warmth through her system. She sighed.

"Scorpius?"

"Mmm?"

"Er-" Lily hesitated. She had never actually been in a proper relationship before, unless you counted the one in third year with Arius Blackthorne, and she certainly tried not to. She really had no idea how these things worked. "Can I- do people unburden themselves in relationships?"

His eyes were almost amused as he looked at her. "I think that they snog, mostly. Go to the cinema occasionally, or out for a meal." Clearly sensing her irritation, he smiled. "Come on, Potter. Spit it out."

"It's just..." Lily shook her head, at a complete loss for words. How was she supposed to phrase it? "That night in Knockturn Alley-" She felt his grip tighten around her instinctively. "How much do you really remember? Because there's something I need to-"

"I know Anguis is dead," he said.

Her breath caught in her throat. For a moment, it was as if she was choking, unable to surface for air. The blackness was crushing, smothering her, and she felt her eyes begin to water. Immediately, his hands were rubbing her back.

"Lily? Are you alright?"

"Fine." She coughed, trying to shake off the sudden bout of dizziness. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." His words were filled with sympathy, but she heard no trace of pity, and was grateful. She deserved to feel guilty, and she didn't want him to think otherwise. "It's hurting you, isn't it? What you did. You're terrified."

Something like a laugh escaped her. "No, I'm a Gryffindor," she said bitterly. "We're born and bred brave. Showing fear is a cowardice."

"You don't have to be brave for me," he said, more gently than she would have thought he was capable of. "I just want you to be Lily."

She sighed, rubbing at her temples. "That's the thing. I don't know who Lily is anymore." She paused, trying to collect herself. "Don't you see? I have to be brave now, Scorpius. I was scared - so scared - when I raised my wand. I just _pointed _it at him, and I let the terror- I-" She shut her eyes, trying to block out the images. "I killed him because I was scared."

"You killed him to save your life."

"Then I killed him out of selfishness!" Lily turned to face him, glaring. "Either way, I'm everything a Gryffindor isn't supposed to be! I didn't save anyone, I _murdered_ him!"

"You saved me," he said firmly.

"I didn't." She couldn't meet his eyes, and instead studied a nearby blooming plant with interest. "You saved me, again. Don't you see, Scorpius? Every time I try and be the one to do the saving, I end up messing it all up! It can't be like that anymore. Not this time."

Lily realized her mistake too late. She bit her lip abruptly, clinging to the hope that he hadn't noticed anything unusual. Scorpius's gaze was locked on hers, and his blue eyes were hard. "This time?" he echoed darkly. "What do you mean, this time?"

Damn. So he had noticed.

"I- nothing." Lily bit her lip, waving her hand impatiently. "Forget I said anything. It was stupid." She tried for a weak smile that he didn't return. His expression was black.

"Lily, stop it. Whatever idea you have in that little head of yours, that's where it's meant to stay, alright? Don't do anything stupid."

His words actually stung a little, and Lily crossed her arms mutinously. "You have no idea what I'm thinking," she said shortly. "You can't judge me based on assumptions."

He laughed, but it was a humourless sound. "I know you better than anyone, Lily, but anybody with eyes could see that you want to go after the penseive. It's not an _assumption_, it's a fact."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "You seem awfully sure of yourself."

"Like I said, I know you well," he said simply.

They locked eyes again for a moment, each pushing, trying not to give under the weight of the other's stare. His eyes were the same blue as the sky before a storm, a sort of grey and navy that brought many a sailor to their death. Lily could feel her own boat capsizing.

"Fine," she said wearily, giving up all false pretences. "So I want to go after the damn thing. You almost _died_ for that information, Scorpius! I don't see why you won't agree with me that this is important."

He hissed out a long breath. "Because it's not worth it, Lily! Why can't you-"

"Why not?" she demanded, cutting him off. Her breathing was becoming heavy, and she could feel an angry red flush starting over her face. "Why wouldn't you risk it? Why wouldn't you try? Why-"

"Because I can't risk _you_!"

That brought her up short. She searched his face, trying to read his expression. The blues in his eyes were now alight with something that she had tried for so long to grasp on to; life. Slowly, like a dream, he shifted her so that she was facing him on his lap, their noses inches apart. She could feel his cool breath brushing her cheeks. His hands cupped the back of her neck.

"Lily," he murmured. She could feel her heart pounding as he leaned in.

They kissed the same way that fought, the way that they laughed. The adrenaline running through her veins made her dizzy and she pulled him closer, losing herself in the moment. Somehow, even after their weeks together, her body was never immune to Scorpius's effects. And he was a good kisser, sure, an _excellent _kisser; but what made her feel the way she did was something else entirely. It was in the moments afterwards when he looked at her, that small smile on his face. The way his hands trembled when he cupped her face.

It was the things that made him Scorpius.

"Feel better?" he asked, his thumb brushing over her jawline. Lily nodded, still a little too out of breath to speak. He smirked. "Good. I'm glad to hear that I still have that effect on women."

For a moment, she was too stunned to do anything. Then her jaw dropped, and she smacked him on the shoulder. "Scorpius!" she laughed. "You're ruining this moment!"

He quirked an eyebrow. "I thought I was making it better for you." His eyes trailed suggestively to her lips, which felt swollen and red. Lily scowled.

"Just because you're a good kisser doesn't mean I won't ditch you."

"You think I'm a good kisser?" he asked playfully, and she clapped a hand to her mouth. His grin widened until he was beaming. "Well, you're not bad yourself. A ten for sure." There was an impish look in his eyes. "Out of a hundred, that is."

"That's it." She crossed her arms. "No more kissing for you."

Lily knew as soon as the words were out that she would regret them. His eyes shone with a different light, one that frankly said _challenge accepted_. She felt her eyes widen.

"Scorpius-"

He was on top of her in one swift motion, pinning her beneath him. His grip was loose, but she could tell that squirming wasn't really going to get her anywhere. Scorpius grinned good-naturedly.

"What were you saying?"

"You-" She slapped at his chest weakly, trying to wriggle out. As she had suspected, his grip was iron tight. "Off! No more kissing for you!"

"Mmm?" His words were muffled as he traced kisses down the side of her neck, nipping the sensitive skin above her pulse point. "Concede yet?"

"I-" She gasped, her hands tightening around him automatically as he kissed the delicate skin behind her ear. "You're a cheater."

"I never said I fight fair," he murmured, his voice low in her ear. Lily began to feel distinctly dizzy as his lips brushed the tops of her collarbones. Oh dear.

"But-" She was embarrassed to hear herself moan as his fingers brushed her lips. Her back arched automatically. "Shit. What was I saying?"

"Nothing." To her immense displeasure, he paused in his affections to meet her eyes. There was a smile in them. "I think you were groveling a lot to get me in bed. It was quite embarrassing, actually."

"Scorpius!" she complained half-heartedly, pushing at his shoulder weakly. "My family's not blind. You need to get off." Scorpius grinned again. His hair was rumpled from where she had run her hands through it, and his tie was askew.

"Are you sure they're not blind? Half of them wear glasses, and the other half have hair the colour of carrots."

Lily sat up, brushing at her clothes. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that you are what you eat." He shrugged, but there was a wicked sparkle in his eyes. Lily could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Damn that sparkle.

"Are you suggesting my family eats carrots for their eyesight?"

"It was your words, not mine, love." He stood up, stretching before offering her a hand. "Can you still stand?"

"Git," she announced, shoving his hand away as she hopped to her feet. "I said you were good, not mind-blowing. There's always some room for improvement."

"Then I'll need lots of practice," he said cheekily, wrapping his arm firmly around her waist. "Come on. I know a good place to get some."

o.O.o

For the second time in a matter of weeks, Lily found herself rudely accosted by one of her cousins.

"Lily!" a voice hissed. "Lily Potter! Get your lazy arse out of bed."

An excited hand shook her awake, not bothering to try and be gentle about it. There was a bang as a foot connected with something hard, followed by some muffled swearing. Lily groaned, sitting up and rubbing at her eyes. It was a little past one in the morning, judging by the way the moonlight hit her bed. Much too early to be judging the time in the first place.

"Rox?" Lily squinted through the darkness, trying her best to identify the figure in front of her. Dark eyes stared back at her in amusement, aglow in the star light filtering in from the window.

"You're up!" Roxanne whispered, clearly delighted. "Good."

"No, not good," Lily groaned, rolling back over and on to her stomach. "It's barely past midnight, Roxanne. Go back to sleep. Or go to sleep in the _first_ place; I really don't care."

"Lily-"

"Sleep!" she yelled, lifting her head to glare at her cousin. "Now!"

"Shhh." Roxanne slapped a hand over Lily's mouth, much to her disgruntlement and general irritation. Her cousin glanced about uneasily. "You'll wake Lucy."

"You mean that you haven't woken her as well?" Lily pried Roxanne's hand away from her mouth, shooting her a reproachful look. "Great. I've never been so happy to be your favourite, Rox."

"I love you all equally. I'm my favorite, really." But she said it mildly, almost distractedly, and for the first time, Lily actually focused enough to realize that something was going on. She slowly sat up, wrapping the sheets around her sleepily.

"What's going on? Are Rose and Lucy okay?"

"They're fine." Roxanne waved her hand impatiently, picking up her robe and beginning to rummage through the soft velvet pockets. "Both still sound asleep, last I checked."

"Scorpius?" Lily asked sleepily. "Al? Hugo?"

"All perfectly alright." Roxanne flipped the fabric inside-out, shaking the garment with a frown. "Or they were a couple hours ago. Unless they've been attacked by a rabid troll or something, I'm sure they're still breathing."

Lily watched curiously as her cousin made a sound of frustration, completely uprooting the plush lining of the velvet as she dug through the robe. "And are you alright?"

Roxanne grinned. "Am I ever?"

She shook the cloak one more time for good measure, and Lily's attention was immediately captured by a small key that tumbled abruptly from one of the sleeves. Roxanne let out a small whoop of excitement, holding it up to examine.

"Bingo."

Lily, who was a little too curious to worry too much over the night's strange turn of events, leaned in closer to get a good look at it as well. "What is it?"

"A key," her cousin said wryly. Lily scowled.

"Obviously."

Seeing her expression, Roxanne grinned. "It's a transfigured key. Or, it was. Now it's been untransfigured."

"You transfigured a key to be part of your robes?" Lily clarified, frowning when her cousin nodded lazily. "I have a feeling that I'm going to regret asking, but why exactly would you do that?"

Roxanne slowed her voice down, as if she was explaining it to a small child. "Well, I couldn't have them figuring out that I stole it, could I?"

"You stole- Rox!" Lily said, horrified. A sudden thought had occurred to her, one that she hoped was unfounded for all of their sakes. "Please tell me that I'm mad for thinking that you stole a key to Professor Longbottom's office. Please tell me that I'm crazy."

They locked eyes for a moment. Lily's vision had adjusted well enough to the darkness that she could now fully make out her cousin's face, a chocolate mocha in the pale light. She was wearing all black, and her dark hair was tied back in a no-nonsense ponytail. Lily groaned again. Clothes fit for a breaking-and-entering sort of mission.

"You agreed that we needed to do it!" Roxanne hissed, leaning forward as to not disturb Lucy's sleeping form. Her expression was fierce. "Come on, Lily. You know just as well as I do that none of the rest of them were going to do it! Don't kid yourself into thinking that this wasn't the only way it was going to play out."

Lily let out a long breath, burying her head in her hands. A couple of months ago, she would have jumped at the chance to do something like this; rash, impulsive, dangerous. But there was more at stake now. There was her family to think about, for one, and her own general well being.

And then there was Scorpius.

He was something else entirely. Hadn't he warned her just yesterday not to do anything stupid? And here she was, tempted into joining Roxanne on her mad mission to break into Professor Longbottom's office and view top secret memories.

It was a hard decision, an almost impossible one, in fact. But there was something in Lily, some profoundly Gryffindor nature that wouldn't let her walk away without a fight.

The decision came to her lips before she had even thought about it.

"I'm in."

Roxanne looked relieved, and it took Lily a moment to realize with a shock that she hadn't actually expected her to come along. Her cousin had been ready to operate alone, and that alone gave Lily all the more encouragement to follow through.

"Brilliant," she whispered, hopping lightly off the bed. "I'll meet you outside the office in twenty, alright? Dress in all black. And for Merlin's sake, be _quiet _on the way down!"

As if to punctuate her point, she slipped silently through the door and down the stairs, never making a sound. Lily paused for a moment to listen for the creaking of a floorboard, but as far as she could tell, Roxanne had made it out silently. Damn, that girl was good.

It took her roughly five minutes to dig through her drawers, pulling out a pair of stretchy black tights and a long, hooded navy short-sleeve. She threw them on without really looking, instead focusing on looping her hair up and out of her face. She poised the bobby pins in her mouth as she did up her shoelaces, glancing at the clock. Ten minutes. Roxanne would be proud.

"Lily?"

She spun around in alarm, her heart beating frantically in her chest. The bobby pins in her mouth fell limply to the floor. Rose was sitting up in bed, rubbing at her eyes blearily. Her red hair was in tangles around her flushed face.

"Was goin' on?" Rose peered through the darkness, her eyes still squeezed into tiny slits. "'You okay?"

"I'm good." Lily's heart was still beating fast as she drew closer to Rose's canopy bed, but she managed a small smile. "Go back to bed. You look exhausted."

"So do you." Rose squinted at her face. Lily could see her natural intelligence warring with the desire to sink back into her warm covers and close her eyes. "You sure everything's alright?"

"Positive." Lily tried for another smile, reaching out to squeeze her cousin's hand. It was still warm with sleep, matching the rosiness of her cheeks. "I couldn't sleep, that's all. I'll tell you about it in the morning."

"Oh." Her half-conscious mind seemed to be struggling with something, trying to piece together the puzzle. "But I want to hear about it now."

Lily actually chuckled. Judging from her cousin's bleary eyes, there was nothing more she wanted than to drift off to sleep, but Lily was flattered by her attempt to stay awake on her behalf. She shook her head slowly.

"No, you don't." She patted Rose's covers softly, smoothing the coverlet down. "Come on. Just close your eyes, and I promise that it will all make sense in the morning."

"But it never does." Rose suddenly looked terribly vulnerable, her tiny arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes were wide and child-like, appearing especially fragile against the pale pallor of her freckles. The white of her nightgown gave finish to the angelic quality. "It never makes sense."

"What?" Lily frowned in confusion. "Rosie, you've lost me."

"It never makes sense," she repeated, only this time it came out as a whimper. Her brown eyes were filled with tears. "I don't understand why I like him, Lily, I just do."

Lily wanted to scream in frustration. _Oh, hello bad timing? Yes, it's me, Lily Potter. Could we save this discussion with Rose for later, please? I'm sort of in the middle of staging a break-in_.

Unfortunately, Lily didn't think that she was getting out of this anytime soon.

She steeled herself for the worst. "Scorpius?"

"Yeah." Rose wiped at her nose, which was running like crazy. She gave a small hiccup of embarrassment. "Sorry. I'm a mess."

"It's fine." Lily automatically swiped away some of Rose's tears with her thumb, but her mind was on overdrive. Her heartbeat was almost painful. "What about him?"

Rose looked at her through panicked, red eyes. "I know that I said that I didn't fancy him, but I _do_, Lily! I really, really like him. I might even-"

She cut off, but Lily could guess what she would have said next. "Love him?" Her throat felt especially tight. Rose glanced away.

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to," Lily said dully. She could feel a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. "I can tell."

Rose bit her lip. "Listen, I know you two have something between you. But... I want my shot, Lily. And I want it badly. I told myself to wait, and to see what would happen with the two of you, but you don't even really like him as a friend, right? You hate him."

There was hope in her cousin's eyes. It was like a punch to her stomach, and Lily squeezed her eyes shut. "Right. I hate him."

Rose sighed, playing absent-mindedly with a lock of her hair. Lily could see the weariness growing on her face again, creeping in on every line in her face. "I'm sorry to load all of this on you, but I-"

A yawn interrupted her next words, and Lily smiled weakly. She pulled the bed covers up to her cousin's chin. "I understand," she said softly. "It's important to you. He makes you feel special, like everything stops when he's around." Her voice had dropped to a whisper. "You just want to hear him laugh, and to help him when he's hurting. You want to be the first thing he sees when he wakes up in the morning, and the last one to see him before he goes to bed. You want to slow dance under the stars and- and cuddle on the porch of your house together! You want a _past_, and a _present_... and the promise of a future."

She trailed off abruptly, realizing that her mind had been wandering. Rose, who was watching her sleepily, laughed softly. "I wouldn't go that far. The laughing bit was nice, though."

"Oh." Lily felt her heart sink, but she smiled bravely. "I'm sorry. I'm tired too, I guess. We'll talk in the morning, alright?"

"Okay." Rose's eyes were already closing, and her mouth had popped into a perfect little O. Lily stood up carefully, preparing to leave, when Rose's small, warm hand caught at her arm. "Lily?"

"Yes?" she whispered.

"You'll stay here tonight, right?" Rose's voice was soft and fragile, like a tiny wisp of a feather caught in a world of vengeful tornados. "Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I have these thoughts, and- and-"

"I'll stay," Lily interrupted, her heart aching. It was an odd sight to see her strong, fierce cousin reduced to a bundle of doubts and fear, but somehow, it only made her seem stronger for hiding it all along. "Don't worry, Rosie. Nothing's going to hurt you."

"Thank-you," she murmured, her grip already slackening in Lily's. "I'm going... I'm gonna..."

Lily waited for a moment, listening to the even breathing of the room. Her mind was still whirling from what Rose had confessed. However delirious her cousin may have been, Lily could still hear the scrap of truth in what she had said. She truly did care for Scorpius. And yet...

Did she care as much as Lily did?

_No_.

The response was immediate. It was harsh, and it was cruel, but an instinctive part of her knew the truth. Rose had a crush on Scorpius. Lily was in love with the boy.

But could she stay with him, if it meant hurting Rose? She glanced down at her cousin, so peaceful in her slumber. She had curled up into the fetal position, resting her hand on her cheek. Her nose twitched in her sleep. Lily felt something shatter inside of her.

She wasn't sure.

Rising jerkily, she kissed Rose on top of the forehead, already backing towards the door. She supposed it didn't matter. Whatever had just happened didn't seem to merit any of her worry at the moment. Lily was about to face something far worse.

o.O.o

_A/N: _Review please!


	26. The Pensieve

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _I decided that it was high time to update, mostly just to reassure a good portion of you that I am, in fact, not dead. So that's good news! Or something. I guess I'll just stop rambling and let you read now, yeah?

o.O.o

Lily took the stairs at breakneck speed, trying her best not to fall into the trip stairs. She winced as her feet made a scuffling sound on the tile floor, but didn't slow. It was difficult for the untrained eye to navigate Hogwarts at night; the castle was all shadows and angles, eerie statues leering down at unsuspecting students as they passed.

Luckily, Lily had years of experience behind her. She and Hugo had been wandering the corridors after hours since their first year, when they had set out to find the kitchen. It was odd not to have Hugo with her now, but her sense of direction never failed; Lily knew the castle's layout like the back of her own hand.

"Took you long enough," Roxanne announced, raising an eyebrow as Lily came barreling into view. Her mouth twitched when she saw that Lily was panting. "Rough night?"

"Yeah." Lily glared, still doubled over and trying to catch her breath. "Some git woke me up and then made me sprint through the castle."

Roxanne's grin never faltered. "I see your optimistic attitude hasn't changed a bit." Her eyes flicked over Lily's outfit, and something like amusement flashed in her eyes. "Neither has your fashion sense either, apparently."

Lily shot her a dirty look. "The same git that woke me up also told me to wear all black. I can't help it if the clothes I own aren't sequined."

Still, she grudgingly had to admit that she could see Roxanne's point. Her cousin wore sleek black jeans, and a low cut V-neck top that plunged just a little too far for comfort. Although Lily personally thought that the outfit was more appropriate for a night out clubbing, Roxanne did blend almost seamlessly into the tableau on the wall behind her. With her dark skin and hair, she was the perfect picture of stealth.

"Do you have the key?" Lily asked hopefully.

Roxanne waved it eagerly. Her entire body was visibly vibrating with energy, and she was hopping up and down on her toes. Lily had to smile. She was like one of those muggle inventions - a rocket ship, she mused. Roxanne was like a rocket ship ready for launch.

"Do you have your wand?" Roxanne checked. Lily nodded, and she grinned. "Excellent! Let's go take down some dragons or nasty spells."

"Rox-" Lily hesitated, suddenly uncertain. She loved her cousin a lot, but at the moment, she would have given anything to have a sensible person like Rose with her instead. "If anything goes wrong, we get out, alright? No questions asked."

Roxanne's eyebrows drew together. "But-"

"I mean it." Lily searched her cousin's expression, her own face solemn. "It's not worth risking our lives over. There's no one to save us this time."

There was a beat of silence. Roxanne blew out an impatient breath. "Fine," she said shortly. "You make the call, captain. But we're not leaving until we have to."

"Deal."

They both turned to face the door, shoulder-to-shoulder. Roxanne glanced at her once, sideways, before stepping forward and turning the key in the lock. Lily held her breath as the door swung open. She steeled herself, ready, drawing her wand as-

Nothing.

The room was silent.

Lily shot Roxanne a curious look, and her cousin shrugged. It wasn't hard to guess that she had no idea why they weren't dead yet, either. Lily took a bold step forward and, when nothing happened, continued into the office. Roxanne trailed behind her, shutting the door with a soft click.

The room was exactly as she had left it, only shrouded in darkness now. Lily could hear the tiny whirs and clicks of machines, competing with the chatter of a nearby cage full of pixies. Stacks of messy books were strewn across a battered old wooden table, and she could barely make out what looked like an old wardrobe in the far corner.

And sitting right in front of her was the pensieve.

It held an innocent quality in the dark, an almost ethereal dream-like quality. Blue light shone from the very center, mingling with the silver swirls drifting off the surface of the basin. Lily stepped forward carefully, and frowned when nothing happened. She tapped the stone basin experimentally.

"Nothing," she said, shrugging as Roxanne moved to join her. "It's like he's decided to use the honor system or something."

"That's good, right?" Roxanne hovered her hand over the liquid, her expression intrigued. "I mean, if he wants to mistake us for prize students, I'm all for it."

Lily frowned, running a finger gently over the rough edges of the bowl. Why would Professor Longbottom have made it so easy? Did he really think that no one would dare to break in, or were some serious nasty things lying in wait?

And if so, why bother waiting? Why not just attack them earlier on?

"Lily!"

It took her a moment to realize that Roxanne was waving her hand in front of Lily's face, and she blinked, startled. "Hmm?"

Her cousin sighed impatiently. "Were you even listening? Never mind," she sighed, seeing Lily's guilty expression. "Of course you weren't. I was saying that one of us should stay here, just in case somebody comes along. What do you think?"

It was such a reasonable, completely non-Roxanne like notion that Lily was momentarily stunned. She almost wanted to give her a hug, but quickly decided against it. Roxanne was the type of person to curse you into oblivion for looking at her with affection. "I think that's a brilliant idea." Lily nodded numbly. "Er, yeah. You want to be the one that goes in, I suppose?"

"Oh." Roxanne looked acutely embarrassed, like a child caught with their hand in a cookie jar. "Actually, I was hoping to stay behind. Just in case any monsters come along that we need to fight off." There was a shred of hope in her voice, as if the possibility of stumbling upon a scary creature was a dream come true. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"You're staying behind?"

"If that's alright with you." She smiled sheepishly. "You've got a better memory anyways."

Lily nodded, squaring herself to the basin. All of a sudden, the innocence she had seen earlier was gone, replaced with a sinister quality that she couldn't place. Taking a deep breath, she glanced back at Roxanne.

"If I'm not back in twenty minutes, pull me out, alright?"

Roxanne nodded solemnly, drawing out her wand. Lily sucked in a breath. Taking a jerky step forward, she simply stared for several long moments. Then before she could really think about it, she plunged her hand in.

The effects were immediate. One minute Lily was standing on firm ground and the next she was falling, flying uncontrollably through the air. It was an alarming feeling, similar to the one she had gotten when she had fallen off of her broom; the sensation of control floating away from her. A scream was ripped from her throat as she plummeted, waving her arms wildly. She was dying, suffocating, unable to breathe, not thinking about anything and thinking about everything, and-

It was over.

Lily felt her heels hit the ground with a bone-crushing force, her teeth snapping together. A jarring shock ran through her body. The world tilted, spinning wildly until everything was a blur of colors, and she dropped clumsily to her knees.

She sat there for a moment until, after hesitantly deciding that her head would not in fact be splitting open any time soon, Lily stood up shakily. Glancing around, she determined that she had landed somewhere in Hogwarts, likely on the steps that stretched between the Great Hall and the grounds. It was difficult to tell with all of the rubble and debris scattered around. Dust mingled with the ashes drifting through the air.

Lily took a hesitant step forward, flinching as the sound echoed through the empty courtyard. It appeared that everyone had decided to take an extended vacation and left the castle in shambles. She sniffed hesitantly at what appeared to be a burn mark on the stone before immediately feeling stupid. It was a memory; touching, tasting and smelling things were impossible.

She had almost made it to the front doors when something distinctly fleshy and covered in red caught her eye. Abruptly, Lily stepped back, a feeling of horror creeping over her. She swallowed reflexively, her eyes darting to the ground. Bile rose in her stomach. It was just as she had feared; the body of a young girl was wedged unceremoniously in the corner, and while Lily was no expert, it still looked fresh. The battle wasn't over after all.

As if on cue, a loud shout came from further down into the grounds. Lily followed it unthinkingly and yes, there, against the bright dawn, was an army of figures silhouetted against the pinks and reds of the sky. Almost eerily, no one was moving with the exception of two figures that were circling one another. Lily, upon drawing closer, shortly realized who they were. The wizard they had learned about - He Who Must Not Be Named - and her father.

She broke into a run at break-neck speed, ghosting through the pack of bodies as seamless as a knife through water. Breaking on to the other side, she caught her breath, staring in abject horror at the scene in front of her. Her father, odd as it was seeing him at the same age she was now, was still her father. And right now, he was being cornered by the Dark Lord.

"Dad!" It was automatic; she continued her sprint forwards, throwing herself in front of him. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded. "Dad! Look at me!"

He ignored her, of course. It was a strange sensation, but if someone could stare right through you, it was what he was doing. Lily watched in a sort of daze as the two of them circled one another, saying something that her scrambled brain couldn't make out. There was cold laughter. Then a flash - two flashes - of brilliant light.

Lily screamed, flinching back automatically. She realized belatedly that she was standing beside a teenage version of her mother now, who was watching the battle with a hard expression. There were tear tracks on her cheeks, and her eyes were red and swollen. Lily was momentarily taken aback. It was true when people said that they looked alike; she could have been staring at an identical version of herself.

She was brought back to the action when a sudden silence fell, and Lily turned just in time to watch as the body of the man who had destroyed her father's life fell, crumpling to the ground in one swift motion.

Everything seemed to pause for one pregnant moment. Her eyes flicked across the faces of her family. Uncle Ron, who was dirty, bloody and bruised, but still determined. Aunt Hermione, whose face was the perfect expression of hope. Her grandpa and grandma, various aunts and uncles, Luna, Neville, and Draco Malfoy, his cold grey eyes sweeping over the scene.

For a long moment, there was silence.

Then the cheering began. It was a sudden explosion of noise, and all of a sudden people were crying, cheering, laughing and hugging one another. There was a commotion as everyone struggled to push towards the center, trying their best to touch her father. Lily was about to go join them when a flicker of movement caught her eye. Draco Malfoy had turned to go, and judging from the way things were beginning to fade...

It was his memory. Lily was stuck in Draco sodding Malfoy's memory.

She could have groaned. Wasn't the pensieve previously in the Malfoy family's possession? It only made sense that their memories would be scattered throughout. And yet, some naive part of her had hoped that it was her father's. Had hoped that she might finally get a glimpse of the childhood he so rarely talked about.

No such luck.

She felt the whirlwind descend and pick her up again, thrusting her through time and space. It was as unpleasant as the first time, though she now had some idea of how it would end. With a determination Lily didn't know she possessed, she curled herself into a ball, absorbing the impact of her fall in a roll.

Once her head had stopped spinning again, Lily stood up slowly, glancing around. It appeared that she was in King's Cross Station, presumably at the beginning of term. A scarlet steam engine billowed clouds of thick smoke, and packs of students pressed together, chatting as they loaded owls and pet toads on to their carts. Lily glanced around, confused for a moment, before freezing.

Scorpius Malfoy stood a few feet away, and he was staring directly at her.

Well, not _at_ her, of course, as this was in fact a memory and he couldn't really see her. But his blue eyes were trained in her direction, and he wore a surly, brooding expression. Lily realized belatedly that this must have been shortly before or during when things had started to go wrong with his parents. The fact that a younger version of herself was likely standing nearby but not bothered enough to help tore at her heart strings, and she bit her lip. This had to be a recent memory; Scorpius looked no younger than sixteen years old, and he had cut his hair to the style that he wore it nowadays.

"Scorpius!"

Lily jumped, startled into moving closer as her brother came bounding into view. His grin was a mile wide, and the two boys dropped their things on the spot, clapping one another on the back. Lily had been around long enough to witness their reunions many times, and so she was hardly surprised when the two of them grinned at one another like idiots. Scorpius's entire face had lit up, and any sign of trouble was gone.

"You alright, mate? Thought you might have gotten lost." He stooped to sweep up their things in one clean motion, tossing Albus his books. "You know, ran into a couple brick walls before you found the right one."

"Do I look like I ran into a brick wall?" Albus asked, raising an eyebrow. Seeing Scorpius's delighted expression, he shook his head. "Never mind. Don't answer that."

The two boys fell into step almost automatically, neither hesitating as they began their journey to the train. Albus was talking a mile a minute about some quidditch scandal that had happened that summer and how Porella had been there for it and wasn't that _amazing_?, but Lily could tell that Scorpius wasn't really listening. He had drawn into himself again, merely giving the occasional nod. Lily was surprised that Albus hadn't noticed yet; it was hard to miss the black cloud that seemed to hang over the blonde's head.

"...and Lily, of course, was a right pain in the arse most of the summer," Albus was saying, making Lily wish that it was possible to hit things in a memory. Namely her brother's face. "Merlin, she's turning into such a _girl_. She basically holed herself up in the bathroom all of July and fought with her hair."

"Yeah?" Scorpius looked vaguely amused. "How curious. Did she ever win?"

Albus looked like he was about to say something not-very-nice when the smoke suddenly parted, leaving a clear view to the front of the train. Lily watched curiously as a group of sixth-years dragged their luggage towards the front, the boy and the girl closest to them laughing and jostling one another. It took her a moment to realize that if they were sixth-years, she probably knew them.

It took yet another moment that Lily should probably know who the girl was as, in fact, it was her.

It was surreal enough to see her mother as a young teenager, but seeing herself was downright scary. Lily watched in a sort of dazed confusion as she and Hugo had some sort of race, levitating their luggage at lightning speed towards the train doors. Lucy appeared to be bobbing behind the two of them anxiously, her eyebrows drawn together, and Roxanne was egging them on.

"Who's that?"

Lily's eyes shot back to Scorpius, who was watching the group of them with an odd expression. His forehead was creased in sudden confusion, and his mouth was twisted. Albus gave him a weird look.

"You mean Lily?"

"No, the girl with the red hair." He pointed through the crowd, gesturing at the train doors. "That girl, right there."

Albus looked on the verge of laughing. "Mate, did you lose your vision over the summer?" He clapped him on the shoulder, jerking his head at where the other Lily stood. "That's my sister, Lily Potter. You might have met her once or twice before?" The teasing tone was evident, but Scorpius's confused expression never changed.

"But- she looks different."

"Must be all the hair care products," Albus said, and Lily swore that she would get him later for this. "Come on, Scorpius. Snap out of it or we'll be late for the train!"

The smoke converged around them and once again, Lily found herself flying through mid-air, unable to control where she was going. It lasted for only a moment before Lily's feet found solid ground again, though she was steady enough this time to absorb the impact.

Her balance fully restored, Lily examined her surroundings. Long, wooden bookcases lined the walls from floor to ceiling, and in the back of the room sat a large wooden desk and wing backed chair. There, sitting as if painted into a picture, was Draco Malfoy. His long fingers were wrapped around a joint, and he stared contemplatively at the door. As if on cue, a loud knock was heard. Lily turned around just in time to see Scorpius for the second time.

The blonde looked almost out of place in the plush surroundings, and he pulled at the collar of his shirt uncomfortably. "You wanted to see me, father?"

"Yes." Draco Malfoy played with the cigar, his eyes sweeping over Scorpius's profile. He gave a stiff nod toward a second chair by his desk. "Have a seat."

Scorpius did so, though Lily could see the trepidation in his blue, blue eyes. His back was ram-rod straight, as if the back of his chair was made of spikes. "I trust you had a reason for this meeting."

It wasn't a question, but Draco Malfoy answered regardless. "Undoubtedly."

"More than one, I'm sure," Scorpius said, something like a smile playing about his mouth. "What is it this time? World massacre, or drowning puppies?"

"Neither," Draco said, his voice considerably cooler. Scorpius smirked.

"Pardon me. I forgot you preferred suffocation."

It was another moment that Lily desperately wished that she could touch something, if only to step on Scorpius's toes. Did he not see that he was going too far? Draco's dark grey eyes were narrowed with contempt, and his left hand twitched spastically. Lily inhaled a sharp breath.

"It's funny," Draco said slowly, "that when you were a young boy, I thought that you could never disappoint me more than you already had. But you have proved me wrong."

"It wasn't all that hard," Scorpius said bitterly. "Your expectations were rather unachievable."

Lily felt something like sympathy flash through her. She had begun to realize what exactly Scorpius was trying to prove here, and it felt a lot like he was trying to prove himself. Lily wanted so desperately to reassure him that it was almost a physical pain, and she snapped her teeth together tightly.

Draco Malfoy was staring at his son with a hard look. "My expectations were hardly a stretch by any means, Scorpius. All I asked was that you uphold this family's honor."

"By doing what?" Scorpius laughed incredulously. "Torturing innocent muggle borns? Murdering unicorns? Perhaps I'd better just go find a bloody rainbow and tear it out of the sky-"

"Enough!" Two red splotches had appeared on Draco Malfoy's cheekbones, similar to the ones that Scorpius had when he was rarely, truly irritated. His hands were both fists. "This is exactly what I had hoped to discuss! You make a _joke _of the Malfoy name, boy! You laugh in the face of honor, of purity, and if your grandfather was here to see it, he would-"

"No doubt do the exact same thing you're doing," Scorpius said softly. Then, after a moment's pause, "Because you're exactly like your father." He leaned forward, eyes glittering. "A _coward_."

There was the undeniable crackle of electricity in the air as the two men eyed one another, sizing the situation up. Lily could feel the heated current, running through the room like energy before lightning strikes. Both Malfoy men had their wands out and gripped firmly in their hands.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Draco hissed, his eyes tiny slits as he stood. "I am nothing like my father. Nothing!"

"Right." Scorpius rose as well, mirroring his own father's posture. "Because dear old granddad Lucius would _never_ make threats over upholding family honor."

"That doesn't make us the same."

"You're right," Scorpius said shortly. "He probably drowned _cats_ instead of puppies."

Immediately, a curse was fired, missing Scorpius by inches. Lily watched in horror as he dodged almost instinctively to the side, flattening himself behind a nearby bookcase. He was breathing hard, and there were sweat beads collecting on his forehead. Lily didn't need words to tell what he was thinking, and it was the surprised expression that betrayed him. Scorpius hadn't actually thought that his father would strike at him.

All the same, he collected himself rather quickly. "Your reflexes are deteriorating," he noted coolly. "Perhaps you had better work on that."

Draco, whose hair was similarly damp with sweat, smiled. "They say practice makes perfect."

Another curse was fired, this time rebounding off Scorpius's shield charm and hitting a nearby bookcase. Draco growled low in his throat, sending another round at his son. Lily watched helplessly as Scorpius stiffened, blocking each with rapt determination.

"You're not going to fight, boy?" Draco's lip curled in disgust, and for a moment, Lily could just have easily been staring at Lucius Malfoy. Then he smiled again. A smug, knowing smile that made her blood run cold. "And you call _me_ the coward."

It happened so fast that Lily almost missed it. One moment, Scorpius stood completely still. He looked almost frozen, his hand clutching his wand so tightly that she thought it might snap. The next thing she knew, there was an all-mighty bang and Draco Malfoy was on the ground.

Scorpius had turned an odd, pasty color. He was staring at his own raised wand in horror. There was a beat of silence. "I-"

"Get out of my house." Draco's voice was hard. "Now." Scorpius stared at him in disbelief.

"Father-"

"Get out _now_." Draco jumped to his feet, his sweeping arms sending rows of jars crashing to the floor. They shattered at his feet, turning into perfect, deadly pieces of glass.

Scorpius hesitated. "But-"

"_No_." The case of books behind Scorpius's head toppled to the ground, missing him by inches. Draco's face was red from a combination of rage and exertion. His hands were shaking. "I think I've had just enough of _you_, boy. I've put up with your blood-traitor nature long enough. I will not taint these halls for another moment with the mere presence of your foolishness!"

Scorpius's jaw was set. "So that's it then? You're kicking me out, with nothing but the clothes on my back." Draco's face was unmoved.

"Be grateful I'm not making you go naked."

There was a tense moment as the two stared at one another, as if memorizing this moment, when everything changed. Scorpius's face was ashen. Lily watched with a leaden feeling in her chest as he nodded, retreating to the door. He paused on the threshold only for a moment, as if he was about to say something and then thought better of it. The door shut softly behind him.

Draco immediately collapsed into his desk, burying his head in his hands. Any fire had gone from his eyes, replaced by the heavy burden of heated words exchanged. Lily lingered reluctantly for only a moment longer before the memory began to fade into nothingness. Yet again, she felt herself jerk into the air.

Only, this time something was wrong.

o.O.o

_So before you all fly at me in an angry rage, I agree that this chapter was a little slow. But please read and review, and I swear that the next chapter will have lots of Scorpius/Lily interaction, as well as some Rose and Hugo._

_Review, pretty please?_


	27. In Your Arms

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _Yes, I'm a horrible person. The truth is that massive writer's block and large quantities of school work have basically squished my head into this little tiny unfortunate space that doesn't know quite what to do with this piece of work. Nevertheless, I will finish, and hopefully by January, when I'm off on hols, copious amounts of boredom will make me succumb to the call of writing. If you need a refresher of what happened, I suggest skimming the last chapter!

That will be all.

o.O.o

Lily felt something like raw fear creep into her throat, and she screamed. Any sense of floating was gone, replaced by the sensation of being tossed about randomly in the middle of a hurricane. Flashes of light burst in front of her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. The wind made her feel cold and dizzy.

Her foot connected with something hard, and her eyes flew open at once. Disbelief gripped her, accompanied by a sense of terror. She was in a _memory_. The ability to feel, taste or touch were impossible.

Which meant that she wasn't in the pensieve anymore.

But nor was she in the real world. Lily bit her tongue, hard, trying to get a grip long enough to think. Okay, so if she wasn't in the pensieve or reality, then where was she? She could feel now, but her body still most unfortunately felt weightless. The logical part of her wanted to say that it was still impossible.

The illogical part told her that she was in some serious shite.

Lily felt tears spring to her eyes and brushed at them hastily. No. She was going to be _fine_. Somehow, one way or the other, she had managed to trap herself in between reality and memory. She hadn't known that such a thing was even remotely possible. But maybe _Roxanne _did, and she would probably guess that Lily was trapped, and go fetch Professor Longbottom, who-

Sudden clarity struck her.

This was Professor Longbottom's doing. No wonder it had been so easy to get into the office, Lily thought sourly. He knew that whoever it was wouldn't be getting out.

A new wave of horror struck her. Would Roxanne work out the same thing she had? Would she just leave Lily here to be caught? No, Lily didn't think that she would. But Roxanne was not the girl to sit around idly and wait for help to arrive. Lily would be lucky if she escaped with all four limbs in tact.

As if spurred on by her thoughts, there was a sudden, sharp tug on her left arm. Horrified, Lily drew in into her chest quickly, curling herself into a tiny ball. The wind threatened to rip her apart, and she clung on to her knees tightly. Another sharp tug, this time on the back of her right foot. And yet, something about it felt familiar. Comforting, even.

_Roxxane_, she thought grimly. Her own words came back to mock her. _If I'm not back in twenty minutes, pull me out, alright?_

Yeah.

Not exactly one of her more brilliant ideas.

Lily felt pressure on the front of her knee and squeezed her eyes shut, kicking out randomly as if she could shake her cousin off. She wished briefly that Rose was here instead. Sensible Rose, who would never attempt a rescue mission on her own unless she deemed it absolutely necessary. Lily felt the pressure on her knee increase to an almost painful extent. She yelped as purple light suddenly exploded, blinding and brilliant in the endless white. Then, suddenly, she felt exhausted.

There was a distinct pressure on her hand, as if someone had taken it and physically squeezed it. The sensation moved up her arm and into her body, and then all of her bones were melting, hot against her skin. She drew in a sharp breath as dull pain beat at her forehead, threatening to strip her skull into pieces. Lily felt as if something inside her was draining, slowly leaving her until all that was left was a pile of ashes.

With abrupt clarity, she remembered Talc's words from a night that felt so long ago. _You noticed_, he had said. _Only Healer's or people who have used spells big enough to actually drain their energy can notice when someone does the same_.

Lily wasn't using any big spells.

It had to be Roxanne.

She felt her cousin's exhaustion like a thorn in her side, stabbing at her relentlessly. If Lily was experiencing the backlash of it, she couldn't imagine how Roxanne must feel. She bit her lip hard as another wave of pain wracked her body, sending her mind spinning. Tiny black dots began to dance in front of her vision.

_No_! Lily blinked rapidly, trying her best to claw past the impending darkness. The edges of her vision were blurry now, teasing her. Tiny flecks of light began to dance in front of her eyes. She drew a sharp breath.

Then, nothing.

o.O.o

The second time that Lily awoke in the Hospital Wing, the room was dead silent.

It was late in the evening; the sun was setting behind the lake, and through her window, she could see the golden glow washing over the water. In the distance, the shuffling of students returning to their common room after supper marked the time. Next to her, Rose sat slumped in a chair, a stack of books teetering precariously on her lap. There were ink smudges on her cheeks that hinted that she had come straight from the library.

Across from her, Hugo was staring distantly through the window. His hands were clasped in a tight ball behind him, and his jaw was set. He looked just as tired as his sister. Lily watched as his eyes flicked to the bed beside him, scanning the figure before giving a nod of satisfaction and shifting his gaze back to the window. Lily frowned.

"Hugo?"

Both Weasley children started, looking over to Lily quickly. Rose's eyes were bloodshot and she looked like she might cry, but her smile took up a good portion of her face.

"Lily!"

Immediately, her cousin was hugging her fiercely, squishing the breath out of her lungs. Somewhere to her left, she heard Hugo protesting that Rose was going to make her pass out again, but Rose seemed not to care. She tightened her grip further, pulling back to stare at Lily as if she might disappear at any moment. "Are you alright? Is there any pain? Pounding in your head near the left temple could indicate a minute fracture, you know, which is a common side effect for-"

"Rose." Hugo's voice was stern, but Lily could tell that he was grinning. "Leave the poor girl alone. She's going to implode from excitement."

Rose had the good grace to blush. She narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Well, she could have cerebral contusions-"

"Rose, no one even knows what you're talking about," Hugo sighed, running a hand through his unruly brown hair. "Honestly, even if Lily had cebebral constitutions-"

"_Cerebral contusions_."

"-no one would be able to tell her because it's so hard to pronounce," he finished, grinning. "Besides, she seems her usual, irrational self."

"Oi." Lily frowned. "I'm sitting right here, you know. I passed out, not lost my hearing."

"And while we're discussing _that_." Rose immediately swung around, her expression becoming stern. Lily shrank away under the force of her glare. She positively radiated disapproval. "What were you thinking, Lily? Not only did it risk everything we've been working for, but you almost killed yourself doing it! It was irresponsible and reckless."

"But sort of badass," Hugo threw in helpfully. Seeing his sister's expression, he relented. "I'm not saying that it was a smart idea! I'm just saying that she staged a break-in to steal top secret files under the cover of night. Even you have to admit that it was totally bad ass." He slapped Lily on the shoulder proudly. Rose stared at her brother a moment as if she was trying to decide if he was joking or not.

"Hugo, what part of 'she could have been killed' did you not understand?"

"The very idea of it." Hugo's grin never faltered. "Come on, Rose. It's not as if she was alone; Roxanne was there the entire time."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better," Rose muttered, rubbing at her temples. Lily bit her lip.

"Where is Rox?" she asked, suddenly acutely aware of her cousin's absence. Rose and Hugo exchanged a meaningful look, and Lily felt her heart stop. "Rose, where is she? Is she hurt? Did Professor Longbottom find her? Is she in trouble?"

Hugo snorted. "Oh, no. Neville doesn't know about any of this. Roxanne made sure of that."

"Rose?" Lily was borderline panicking now, but she managed to keep her voice steady. Her grip tightened around the bedsheets. "What's going on?"

Rose sighed, shooting her brother another irritated look. "She's fine." Her voice was firm. "What my idiot brother here is trying to say is that she exhausted herself by pulling you out of the pensieve. She's just a little tired, that's all."

Hugo made a noise of amusement. "She missed the part where Roxanne stumbled into the hospital wing with you on her back," he said, turning to face Lily. "I swear that I'll never buy her excuses as to why she can't uproot mandrakes ever again."

Lily's mind was struggling to piece together the puzzle. "So if she carried me back, where is she now? Isn't she ill?"

"Oh, she went straight into a magically-induced sleep and has been out for about twenty hours now," Hugo said fondly, jerking his thumb to the bed he had been standing by not ten minutes earlier. "Complete idiot, that girl. We love her anyways though."

Lily glanced at where Roxanne lay tangled in her sheets. Her dark, curly hair was splayed across the bed sheets, and her cheeks were flushed from sleep. Her knees were curled into her chest. She looked oddly vulnerable, her nose occasionally twitching like a startled rabbit. She murmured something softly before falling silent again.

"She woke up for a couple minutes roughly three hours ago." Rose was looking to Roxanne's sleeping form as well. "Just long enough to tell us what had happened. She was so tired, the poor dear."

Lily sighed. "That brave, wonderful girl."

"Courageous, beautiful young woman."

"Absolutely fearless, strong darling."

"Loud, snoring mess." Lily gave Hugo a reproachful look. He smiled. "What? It's true. Some of us were awake for her rendition of Ode to Joy in nose whistling."

"How long _have_ you been here?" Lily asked, lying back in her bed. "I mean, not that I don't appreciate your efforts, but I find it appropriate to ask how long you've been watching me sleep."

Rose hesitated, glancing out at the last beams of light filtering over the horizon. "Four hours, maybe? We ate supper in here, but I can't remember if I went to my last class or not."

Lily felt a bit of guilt squirm through her. "You didn't have to stay, you know. You especially, Rose. You have NEWT's this year! And-"

"Forget them." Rose's smile was genuine and warm. "This was more important."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, watching as the sun went down behind the lake. The cry of a hippogriff could be heard somewhere in the distance, and Lily swore she could make out the faint flutter of wings over the forest. The sudden memory of her own flight over the forest brought a sudden on rush of heat to her cheeks, and she glanced down.

"You haven't heard anything from the others, have you?" she asked, careful not to meet either of her cousin's eyes. "Lucy? Or Al?"

Hugo frowned thoughtfully, rubbing at his temples wearily. "We couldn't find Lucy."

"Oh." Lily felt a small twinge of hurt, just over her heart. "Oh. Well, that's... oh."

Rose seemed to notice her change of tone. "I wouldn't worry too much about it," she said, patting her shoulder comfortingly. "She keeps disappearing. She's probably just curled up in the library with one of those possession books she's become so obsessed with-"

"Do you think I broke her heart?" Lily interrupted. Hugo looked at her oddly.

"I'm sorry, did I miss the memo where you two were together?"

"Not like _that_." Lily shot him an irritated look, though there was no real heat behind it. Her voice felt tiny. "I mean, do you think that she's avoiding me because she's still sore about Talc?"

"Lucy fancies Talc?" Hugo demanded, eyes wide. Lily rolled her eyes.

"_Boys._"

"I'm sure that's not it," Rose said reassuringly, stroking her hair methodically. "Lucy's too much of a dear too be upset that you and Talc are together-"

"You and Talc are _together_ now?" Hugo demanded, his voice growing louder. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Hugo, I wonder sometimes how we're related," she said shortly. "Of course they're together! Don't you see the way that he looks at her?"

"Yes, but I don't have to kick his ass simply for _looking _at her-"

"Well, then there was the kiss! Did that not clue you in?"

"I was kind of hoping that it was more of an innocent snog, to be honest-"

"I can't believe you didn't notice the fact that they were together!"

"Actually," Lily said quite calmly. "We're not. We broke up a couple weeks ago." Two heads swivelled in her direction. Rose looked incredulous, and Hugo looked smug.

"You see? I _told_ you-"

But Rose wasn't listening. Her expression was heartbroken, and she looked at Lily with so much sympathy that Lily felt slightly suffocated. "Oh, _Lily_," she sighed, reaching forward to clasp her hands. "I had no idea, I swear! How are you doing? Do you want to have a cry? I can bring you some chocolate, if you like. Do you want some tea? I think there's some tissues in the next room, and if you need, I can-"

"Rose." Lily squeezed her cousin's hands, silencing her steady stream of suggestions. "Trust me when I say that I'm perfectly alright. It's _Lucy _that I'm worried about." She bit her lip. "She must hate me for breaking up with him. It's like stealing what she wanted and then throwing it back in her face."

Rose wavered. "I'm sure that's not it-"

"Then why isn't she here?" Lily challenged.

There was a horrible moment of silence. Rose looked down, picking at a loose thread on her robes. Lily exhaled, a daunting sense of truth pressing against her. "That's what I thought." She squeezed her hands into tight fists, digging her nails into the fleshy palm of her hand. "What about Al?"

"I sent him an owl as soon as I heard the news," Rose promised, looking relieved to be on a new topic. "He went to Hogsmede first thing this morning, so Slughorn didn't have time to contact him."

"And he's still there?" Lily frowned, thinking of the recent increase in attacks. "Is he mad? It'll be dark by the time he can get a carriage back!"

Rose seemed to notice her alarm and continued in what was clearly meant to be a soothing voice. "He'll be back any moment. He was planning on staying the night at the Hogsmede branch of Weasley Wizard's Wheezes, but I think he might have flipped out a little when he got the owl..."

Lily groaned. "Of course he did. Was he by himself? Please tell me that somebody stopped him from burning down buildings-"

"Scorpius," Rose interrupted. Seeing Lily's expression, she added, "Scorpius is with him."

An awkward silence fell. Her cousin was studiously avoiding her gaze, again picking at the thread on her robes. Lily hesitated, at a loss for what to say. It had been easy to speak freely last night, when darkness had swallowed their words, but here in the daylight, things seemed a lot more real.

Hugo cleared his throat. "I'm going to go and sit with Rox," he said haltingly. "And, uh, draw the curtains. Just in case she starts snoring again or something." He rose uncomfortably to his feet, making good on his word as he tugged the maroon fabric around the two of them. Lily stared at the pale red curtains for what felt like a long time before she spoke.

"You know that I was never really with Talc, don't you?"

She glanced at Rose, who was sitting perfectly still. Her red hair fell in tumbles around her, and her arms were hugged close to her body. In that moment, she could have been a painting of anyone, someone that Lily didn't know. This girl was strange and closed off. She was not the Rose that Lily knew.

"Yeah." She blinked, and suddenly, it was as if life had been breathed into her. Her cheeks flushed with colour. "I do."

"Then why pretend otherwise?" Lily found that she wasn't angry, merely curious. "Why go along with what everyone else was saying?"

"I suppose-" Rose broke off, staring abashedly at the floor. "I suppose it was easier to just pretend."

Lily felt her heart begin to compress in her chest. "Rose-"

"It's alright, Lily." Rose smiled, and though it didn't meet her eyes, it was _real_. She could see the effort in her cousin's eyes. "I heard what you said last night, you know. You really do- well, you really do love him."

Lily had no doubt who _he_ was. "But-"

"No, just listen to me for a moment," Rose said quickly. "What I said all along - that I've seen the way that he looks at you- it's true. He really does look at you like that. And for someone that has been watching him for a while, I can say that he hasn't ever looked at anybody else that way before."

Lily drew a shaky breath. "I just wish that this were easier. I don't really know what to do; what the _right_ thing to do is-"

"That's because there isn't one," Rose said sadly. "There has never been a right choice, or an easy choice, Lily. There's just you, and me, and Scorpius."

The word seemed to fall heavy between the two girls, and Lily shifted uncomfortably. Rose looked equally as awkward about the whole ordeal, though perhaps a little more prepared and collected. She smiled bravely. "You see? I can say it now. It doesn't bother me anymore."

"I never wanted to hurt you," Lily whispered. "Trust me, Rose, you're the last person I ever wanted to hurt. You and Lucy, and somehow I've managed to hurt you both."

Without really thinking about it, Lily grabbed her hands, taking her turn to hold them tightly between her own. Rose closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was smiling. "Do you know that it was his idea to come back to Hogwarts tonight? Al said that they couldn't risk it, with all the death eater's around. But Scorpius was so damn insistent." Her voice trailed off, and when she spoke, her eyes were far away. "He really cares about you, Lily. A lot more than anyone gives him credit for, including you."

To her horror, Lily felt herself blush. She winced. "But you-"

"Fancy him?" Rose asked gently. "Yes, I do. But I'm not in love with him, and the truth of the matter is that he's not in love with me. You should see him when he talks about you, Lily. It's like-" She broke off, shaking her head. "I can't even describe it. He seems almost lighter, somehow. Happier."

Lily sucked in a breath. "It doesn't bother you then? You're not upset?"

Rose smiled. "How could I ever be upset when it makes the two of you perfectly happy?"

Lily felt tears spring to her eyes, and she brushed at them hastily, laughing. "Look at me," she sniffled. "I'm a complete mess! It's that damn pensieve. It completely wore me out."

Rose's eyes were suspiciously bright as well, and she smiled appreciatively. "Is this the part where I can say me too?"

"Were you sucked into a crazy parallel universe where you almost died?"

"No."

"Didn't think so."

Then, inexplicably, both girls were suddenly laughing and crying, hugging one another as if it was all that was keeping them from falling apart. Lily felt something click into place, and maybe, just for a little while, things could seem _right_. Because right now, with Rose beside her and her family on their way, they did.

o.O.o

It wasn't that Lily Potter usually had troubles sleeping.

No, she could usually sleep just about anywhere. Over the years, she had crashed at James' flat, at the end of Hugo's bed, and once she had even fallen asleep on the quidditch pitch. Really, if it came down to it, Lily was certain that she could sleep just about anywhere.

It was the nightmares that stopped her from actually _wanting_ to sleep.

Madam Pomfrey had left a couple hours prior, hurried out by Lily's protests that she ought to be "drugged up like Roxanne!" Somehow, the matron hadn't seen it quite the same way. And so now, at about one in the morning, Lily lay awake staring at the dark ceiling and counting the number of times the fan turned in a minute.

About seventy-three times, incidentally.

She had just moved on to deciding to count the number of times Roxanne snored in a minute when the faint click of the door was heard. Lily felt her body stiffen. Keeping her eyes open a crack, she turned casually over, trying to maintain an even breathing pattern-

"Don't scream."

She did anyways. A hand was abruptly clapped over her her mouth, and she struggled against it, reaching for her wand on the bedside table. An amused voice cut through her fog of panic.

"You could always try biting me again." A pair of blue eyes leaned over her, fair blonde hair teasing the edges of them. "Much more effective than thrashing about, I suspect."

"_Scorpius_." Lily managed to pry his hand from her mouth, though she was not ashamed to admit that she had considered biting him for a moment. "You prat! You could have woken up Roxanne."

"Because screaming when I said _don't scream _was really going to work."

"Yes, well, I have a tendency to not follow orders." She squinted at him through the darkness, noticing for the first time that his hair was windswept and his cheeks were a chapped red. "Were you just outside?"

"Yeah." His hand went almost automatically to the back of his neck, and he looked at her sheepishly. "Al and I just got in."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "And where is my darling brother?"

"Sleeping, I think. Or snogging Porella somewhere."

Lily wrinkled her nose. "They're not really together, are they? I swear to Merlin, if I have to see her at every family thanksgiving, I'll-"

"Rip out your own eyes with tongs?" Scorpius suggested helpfully. His eyes were glinting with mirth in the faint light. "Try sharing a common room with her for seven years. And you wonder why I turned out so horrible and rotten on the inside."

"You're avoiding the question."

"I know," he said, grinning. "But you weren't supposed to." He pushed aside the pile of sweets Rose and Hugo had left at the side of her bed, kneeling on the ground. Lily shook her head.

"You don't have to do that," she said firmly, shifting over to one side of the tiny bed. She patted the sheets beside her. "Come on."

Scorpius, oddly enough, actually hesitated. "I-"

"Trust me when I say that I've kneeled through enough of Hugo's quidditch lectures to know how it feels." Scorpius remained unmoving, staring at the bed as if it was a foreign creature. Lily felt suddenly vulnerable, and she tugged the covers up to her chin. "I mean, unless you don't want to-"

"I want to."

"Oh." Lily was suddenly glad that it was dark. "Good. Me too." She realized as soon as the words were out that it was true. She did want him there.

Ever so carefully, Scorpius sat on the bed, kicking his trainers off and on to the floor. The bed dipped slightly under his weight, and Lily tried her hardest not to go careening into him. The last thing she wanted was for Roxanne to wake up to the two of them tangled up on the floor.

Scorpius lay down beside her, his broad shoulder pressing into her's in the narrow space that the bed provided. He turned his head to look at her. "Is this alright?"

His breath washed over her, sending tingles down her spine. She clutched the flimsy blanket more securely around her shoulders. "Yes."

"I won't try anything." He shifted ever so slightly, and she shivered . "You don't have to worry."

"I wasn't," Lily said truthfully. _At least, I'm not worried about you being the one to try something_. "You'll be on your best behaviour, I'm sure."

Something like a fleeting grin crossed his face. "I always am." He noticed her yawning and turned over on to his stomach, rubbing circles on to the palm of her hand. "You must be exhausted."

"No," Lily protested, trying to sound indignant. "I practically slept for the whole day! Madam Pomfrey went completely mental over the very idea of going down to dinner with the rest of the castle. She called it a travesty waiting to happen."

"Are you sure she wasn't just referring to you in general?"

"Scorpius!" Lily complained, though she was laughing quietly. "You're awful." There was a few moments of silence as the two of them lay there, staring at each other in the black. She dropped her gaze, a cloud of guilt churning in the pit of her stomach. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Not listening." Lily bit her lip, studying the golden thread on the edge of the blanket. "You told me not to do anything stupid, and I went and landed myself in the hospital."

"Well, technically it was Roxanne that landed you in the hospital. You apparently couldn't walk here on your own."

It was hard to identify his tone of voice, and Lily couldn't see his expression very well in the darkness. She swallowed. "Are you quite angry with me?"

"_Angry _with you?" he asked, sounding rather shocked. His hand tightened on her own. "Why would I be angry with you?"

"Well-" Lily cut off, floundering for words. "It's not like you couldn't say 'I told you so'."

"And I plan to the moment that you're out of the hospital wing," Scorpius said seriously, "but that doesn't mean that I'm _angry_ with you. Merlin, I don't own you, Lily. You're capable of making decisions for yourself, and quite frankly, I would have done the exact same thing if it came down to it. How can I hold that against you?"

Lily felt something like hope flutter inside her chest. "You're not angry."

"I'm not angry," he agreed, and Lily could tell that he was smiling. "Although, I am a little impressed that you managed to convince Madam Pomfrey that you fell off of the astronomy tower, too."

Lily surprised herself by laughing. "She's going to burn that tower to the ground."

"I wouldn't be all that shocked."

He squeezed her hand again, sending warmth flooding through her veins. Lily was suddenly acutely aware of how close they had become, noses mere inches apart. She could feel every nerve tingling where their skin met. Her heart began to pound in her chest.

As if Scorpius had become aware of the exact same thing, he pulled away as much as the bed allowed, leaving her feeling suddenly cold and exposed. He smiled at her, though it seemed forced. "You should sleep some before tomorrow. We should-" He broke off, looking down awkwardly. "Well, I promised I wouldn't touch you."

Lily, whose heart was still racing, wondered if she would ever sleep again. "Right."

His smile was brittle. "Good night, Lily."

"Night."

The fan still whirred above them, cutting through the heavy silence that had descended. Lily could feel the warmth of him radiating through the thin coverlet that separated them. His breathing sounded ragged and uneven in the darkness. Slowly, almost automatically, her fingers began to trace the outline of his spine. She ran her hands over the strong curve, feeling the nubs and ridges that ran together, bending into something perfect-

"_Lily_," he hissed.

So fast that she couldn't follow it, Scorpius had flipped on top of her, his hands positioned on either side of her head to support him. His flushed face was mere inches from her own. "What the hell are you playing at? Do you want to break my self control?"

"I wasn't-" She broke off, biting her lip. "I didn't mean to."

Scorpius groaned deep in his throat, rolling back to stare up at the ceiling. His eyes were pinched as if in pain. "You don't even realize you're doing it, do you?"

"Doing what?" She frowned, wrinkling her nose. Scorpius groaned again.

"That, right there!" His voice was low and raw. "That- _expression_. It's so damned cute."

"Cute?" Lily echoed. She tried out the word, tasting it. "You think that I'm- cute?" It still sounded to her as if he was talking about a Hufflepuff first year. Scorpius seemed to realize this, and corrected himself.

"Maybe not cute," he amended. "Brilliant might be a better word. Fiery, perhaps. Rather fanciable when you're not trying to kill me."

"Is that it?" She was embarrassed to hear her own voice come out breathy, as if she had been running. Scorpius's eyes darkened.

"And crafty." His hand found her waist, brushing against bare skin. "Beautiful, witty and charming." His fingers trailed farther up, finding her lower ribs. She shivered.

"Scorpius..."

Their lips were millimetres apart, close enough that she could feel his eyelashes tease her skin. Her eyes fluttered closed. She heard him inhale sharply, suddenly, pulling back.

"No," he said firmly. "Not like this."

His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes glittered in the dark. Lily drew a sharp breath, reality crashing down upon her. What if Roxanne had woken up? What had she been _thinking_?

"You're right."

There was a pause. Then, "Do you want me to go? It might be easier-"

"No, stay," Lily said firmly. "I can control myself if you can." She tried not to think about the fact that she had been the one to break the last time. The corners of Scorpius' mouth quirked.

"Is that a challenge, Potter?"

"Perhaps."

"Challenge accepted."

o.O.o

_A/N: _Not my best chapter, though that nagging feeling that something needed to be done is slowly leaving me, so that's always good.

Read and review?

I'd still like to hear what you think!


	28. A Brother's Intuition

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; all of it belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling!

_A/N: _Happy holidays! We're nearing the end of this fic, which is a little bittersweet for me. Nevertheless, please enjoy this update! It doesn't have a lot of action, but the next chapter has more than enough, so enjoy the calm while you can.

Seriously.

Enjoy it.

o.O.o

The day that Roxanne and Lily were finally released from the Hospital Wing, they celebrated by going straight to the library. Apparently, the fact that she had fallen off of an astronomy tower and injured both herself and Roxanne in the process had not deterred any of her professors from giving her copious amounts of essays.

Even Professor Longbottom had no such sympathy on the matter.

"I reckon he must know," Roxanne grumbled, scratching out a line furiously with her quill. "I mean, what sort of person gives two severely ill children a term paper to complete in three days?"

"An ill one himself, likely." Lily glanced down at her own paper distractedly, biting her lip as she scribbled. "I don't think he knows, though. He would have said something to our parents."

"Do you think that they would tell us if he had?" Roxanne asked bitterly. Lily could hear her quill scratching something out again. Roxanne's forehead was barely visibly over the monstrous stack of books they had sitting between them on the table. Lily shrugged.

"Probably not. But we would likely be expelled by now if he had."

Absently, she shifted her cramping arm, effectively knocking an older book off of the work surface. She lunged for it, looking over her shoulder guiltily. Madam Pince hadn't been too pleased to see them levitating rows of textbooks down to their seating area, and though Lily couldn't see her through the piles of parchment stacked around her, she had the oddest feeling that the librarian was glaring at her.

"Could we talk about something normal for once?" she sighed, staring blankly at the parchment before her. "I can't concentrate on my essay when you keep speaking about things connected to saving the wizarding community."

"Sure," Roxanne agreed amiably. "Let's talk about quidditch, yeah? Oh, wait!" It was hard to mistake the sarcastic bite to her tone. "A bunch of nutters already tried to do you in during one of the matches!"

"Rox-"

But her cousin was on a role. "What about classes? No, wait, I keep forgetting that we've been missing them because we broke into a top-secret pensieve."

"Rox, I said-"

"Hmm, parents? Oh, bugger, there's that whole part where they're actually all _lying_ to us and are considered famous-"

"Alright!" Lily interrupted, staring down at her paper glumly. She had the nagging feeling that it just wasn't going to happen today. "I understand that our lives are going to hell, Roxanne. You don't need to commentate on them."

There was a beat of silence. Then, "Sorry."

It was so uncharacteristic of her cousin to apologize that Lily wondered if she hadn't misheard. She blinked a couple times. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said that I'm sorry," Roxanne said wearily. "It's just- when you didn't come back that night- I thought..." Her words were muffled around the pile of books. "Well, I didn't know what to think. I suppose that I thought you were dead."

"Oh." Lily had the distinct feeling that these were hard words for Roxanne to say, and that she undoubtedly wouldn't be if there wasn't a stack of books between them. Lily swallowed. "I'm sorry, too. I was the one that dragged you into this in the first place."

"No, you weren't." More scratching of the quill. Lily wondered if Roxanne was even writing anything anymore. "It was my idea, remember? I was the one who wanted to go to Hogsmede. I was the one to discover the painting. If anything, it's my fault."

It was hard to mistake the dejection in her voice, and Lily had the nagging feeling that this was something that had been bothering her cousin for a long time. She blew out a breath. "Give me your hand."

"_What_?"

"Give me your hand," Lily repeated, stretching out her own so that her cousin could see it around the books. There was a moment of hesitation, and then Roxanne's hand was in her own. Lily squeezed it. "Do you feel that?"

Roxanne hesitated. "Yes."

"That's what it feels like at first when someone casts a really exhausting spell around you." Lily squeezed her cousin's hand again. "Just like that. You'll be able to feel it too, now."

She could hear the confusion in her cousin's voice. "I'm not following."

Lily paused, searching for the right words. "I was able to tell that night how much you wanted me out of that pensieve, Rox. I could literally _feel_ your magic. So don't tell me that any of this was your fault when you were the one to try so damn hard to save me."

"But-"

"No," Lily said firmly. "I might be expelled now, if it wasn't for you. Hell, I could even be dead! You aren't allowed to apologize for helping me, Rox."

It was hard to tell what her cousin was thinking when she couldn't see her face, but Lily was fairly certain that Roxanne was smiling when she spoke. "Thanks."

"No problem." Lily clutched her hand more tightly. "It's what family does."

"And Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you let go of my hand now?" she asked. "I'm not really the hugging, hand-holding type."

Laughing, Lily did so. She stared at her essay for only two seconds more before coming to the executive decision that it simply was not going to happen today. She gathered up her supplies and swept it into her bookbag, nudging Roxanne with her foot under the table to let her know that she was leaving. The forehead on the other side nodded distractedly.

Lily was halfway down the corridor when a voice caught her attention. She turned, half-expecting to see Roxanne chasing after her with a dozen quills that she had misplaced. Instead, Al, Rose and Scorpius were making their way towards her, the latter leading by a good amount. His blue eyes were amused, and Lily could tell that each step he took was measured carefully, fast enough that he would reach her first but slow enough that her brother would hopefully suspect nothing amiss. Lily felt her heartbeat quicken.

"Fancy seeing you here," she offered, her lips curving up into a smile.

Scorpius grinned as well. His gaze darted from where Rose and Albus stood waiting impatiently, and back to where she stood. Without another word, he pulled her securely behind a nearby pillar, his hands resting on either side of her head. Lily inhaled sharply as his lips brushed hers, sending tingles down her spine. He tasted of peppermint and spice today, a pleasant combination. She sighed as he deepened the kiss before pulling away, a crinkle between his eyes. She frowned as well.

"What?" she asked defensively, crossing her arms. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, really?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Come on, Scorpius. We've been through enough now that I think we're past the formalities."

"It's just-" His eyes searched her face. "Stay safe, alright? I'm not losing you."

Lily was momentarily taken aback. His eyes were serious, and there was a crinkle between them, as if the thought had burdened him before. "You won't."

"How do you know?" he asked quietly. Sensing no response, he continued. "See, that's the thing. You don't; none of us do."

"Scorpius, I don't understand," she said softly. "Where is this coming from?"

His jaw tightened. Automatically, her hand came up to soothe it, her thumb running over his cheek. Lily could see the break in his eyes, and when he spoke, it came out all in one breath. "Yesterday- I never got the chance to say it. I thought that maybe you needed more time to heal before you heard it, but it was stupid, so stupid to wait. So, at the risk of sounding like a complete and utter prat, I'd like to just say it." He drew a deep breath. "Lily Potter, I'm terrified of losing you."

Lily, who was almost certain that she was quite pink at this point, exhaled quickly. "Scorpius-"

"What are you two _doing_ back there?"

Lily jumped back as far as the pillar allowed, flattening herself against it. Scorpius sprang back as well, both to Lily's equal relief and disappointment. He straightened his collar quickly as Rose and Albus rounded the corner, the former wearing a knowing look and the latter one of neutral curiosity. Lily prayed to Merlin that her cheeks weren't nearly as red as they felt.

"Oh." She cast a desperate look at Scorpius, who looked slightly amused by the whole situation. "Well, we were just-"

"Admiring the view," Scorpius threw in helpfully, examining his fingernails. "Very gorgeous works of art, pillars."

"Right." Rose looked acutely uncomfortable, and she shifted from foot to foot. "Actually, I only just remembered that I have somewhere to be." She shot a hopeful look at her cousin. "Al? Are you coming?"

Her brother was wearing an odd expression, as if he had just discovered something not particularly pleasant. His eyes were cutting in the three feet of space between Scorpius and Lily as if it didn't exist at all, and he shook his head slightly. "Go ahead, Rose. I actually wanted to talk to Lily for a moment."

"So talk," Lily offered, trying not to sound nervous. Albus smiled wryly.

"Alone."

Which Lily took to mean that she was very much in trouble. She swallowed, giving a quick nod at Rose. She didn't dare to look at Scorpius, but saw him follow Rose out of the corner of her eye. Albus, who was clutching the pillar as if it might be all that was holding him upright, never looked away from her. There was something in that look, something familiar that Lily couldn't quite put a finger on. It reminded her of the time that she had hidden spiders in Uncle Ron's bed before blaming it on James. She had never told anyone that it hadn't actually been her older brother, but she always had the sneaking suspicion that Albus had known more than he let on.

_He knows_, Lily thought with a sinking feeling. _About Scorpius and I; he knows._ And yes, there it was in his eyes: the look of someone whose suspicions had just been confirmed.

There was a pause before Albus cleared his throat, cutting through the silence. He was leaning against the pillar now, though his eyes were still focused on her. "Do you know why I chose Slytherin house?"

Lily blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Slytherin house." Albus gave her a tight smile. "Do you know why I choose it as my house?"

Lily, who was still too stunned at the complete segue in the conversation, tried in vain for a moment to form coherent thoughts. "You can't choose houses, Al. The sorting hat does that."

"Not for everyone." Albus shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Dad told me on my first day that I could choose the house that I wanted, and so I did. I chose Slytherin."

Lily's mind was reeling. She attempted to wrap her mind around this new information, stumbling for a moment over her words. "But- you hated Slytherin. You complained for months afterwards!"

"Did I?" Albus arched an eyebrow. "Mum and James certainly did. I don't think that they cared much for having someone they cared about in a shady house like Slytherin. As for Dad - well, when he told me that I could choose, I don't think he ever considered the fact that maybe I didn't want to be in Gryffindor."

"But _why_?" Lily asked, stunned. "Slytherin... well, it's Slytherin," she finished apologetically. "It's not exactly known to be warm and fuzzy, is it?"

"I didn't really care," Al admitted. "Warm and fuzzy wasn't exactly what I was looking for."

Lily, who was quite throughly confused at this point, shifted impatiently. "Then what _were_ you looking for?"

"Honestly?" he hesitated. "To be away from you."

He may as well have just slapped her across the face. Lily recoiled, nearly striking her head on the pillar behind her. Albus had chosen _Slytherin_ to get away from her? He may as well have just admitted that he would have preferred to eat his own right hand.

"Oh," was all she said.

Albus smiled tiredly. "It wasn't just you, you know; it was James too. Do you know what it's like to be compared to him? I remember the first time Dad taught me to play quidditch, he told me to just do what James does. _Just do what James does_. As if James could do no wrong." Her brother's voice had taken on a bitter tone. "Everything became a competition; who could do an Alohomora charm better, or who could climb the tallest tree. I just-" He hesitated. "I just wanted to compete with myself instead for once, you know?"

"Actually, I don't," Lily said shortly. "I compete with Roxanne and Lucy all the time. The difference is that I know how to deal with my losses."

"Well, I never said that I didn't have certain Slytherin qualities as well." Albus attempted a weak smile. "You were always braver than me. It's how I knew that you would be in Gryffindor too, you know. You were always the one to jump into the lake first, or leave spiders in Uncle Ron's bed-"

"I don't get it." Lily rubbed hastily at her eyes, turning her head so that Albus couldn't see her face. "Why are you telling me this?"

Her brother drew a breath. "Because I can't compete with you. Not with this."

"With _what_?"

"Scorpius," Albus said.

Lily turned around at that, her hand dropping abruptly to her side. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Lily." Albus sounded suddenly tired, as if the words were draining the very life out of him. "I've seen the way that you two are. You're my little sister and he's my best mate; I'd have to be blind not to notice."

Lily, who had abandoned all pretences at this point, grabbed her brother's shoulder desperately. "Al, I never wanted to hurt you. I didn't know that you thought of it like that; like some sort of _competition_. I'm not here to compete with you."

"Then why are you here?" There was no trace of accusation in his voice, only an honest curiosity. "Why Scorpius?"

Lily hesitated. "I don't know. I've been trying to figure that out myself, actually." She bit her lip. "Honestly, Al, I never expected it to be him. There's just something about him-"

"His shiny blonde hair and large ego?"

"Those are definitely contributing factors." Lily grinned, relieved to hear a trace of humour in her brother's voice. "I think it's mostly the green house robes. They compliment his eyes."

"Oi!" Albus wrinkled his nose. "Just because we've acknowledged your little relationship now, it doesn't mean that suddenly I'm interested in hearing you drool over Scorpius."

"Oh, please." Lily raised an eyebrow. "Like you aren't secretly attracted to him too."

"Actually, I'm not."

"That's right, you've found someone else."

"Exactly."

"And she might be jealous if she heard that you and Scorpius had a torrid love affair."

"Yes, she would."

"Porella does get jealous rather easily."

"She does." Albus suddenly paled, a guilty expression crossing his face. "Er, wait, what? Porella?"

Lily couldn't help but smirk. She leaned against the pillar, crossing her arms in a self-satisfied sort of way. "I'm not blind either, dear brother."

Albus, who had gone twenty different shades of red, scratched the back of his flushed neck. "Er, I mean, it's not... not really _official_ yet, so maybe if you just wouldn't tell anyone? Ever?"

Lily nodded, thinking quickly. "I won't tell a soul if you promise to do the same. Not even Mum and Dad."

Albus looked horrified. "Especially not Mum and Dad."

Lily grinned, offering her hand out to her brother, who shook it without hesitation. They paused a moment, looking at their encircled hands. Suddenly, Lily wondered when the next time she might actually share a moment with her brother would be. The creeping thought that perhaps she might never get the chance niggled at her, and on impulse, she hugged Albus to her. After a moment of shock, his arms wrapped around her tightly.

"Promise me you won't do anything to get yourself killed," she murmured into his shoulder. "If it comes down to it, and there's a fight... just promise me that you'll be safe."

Al, whose chin was resting on her head, lowered his face to look directly at her. "I promise."

"Not for anyone. You won't risk yourself."

"Of course not," he deadpanned.

Lily searched his face for a moment before giving him a weak smile, patting him on the shoulder. "You're a terrible liar," she told him, "but it was nice of you to try."

o.O.o

"I can't believe we're in an owlery." Rose crinkled her nose, glancing around the tower in distaste. Piles of owl droppings were littered around the space, and hay was stacked so high that Lily bet you could have easily lifted Lucy on to her shoulders and still not been able to touch the top. Rose shook her head. "I hate owls."

"No, you don't," Hugo told his sister firmly. "You just don't like owl poop. Deal with it."

Rose gave her brother a withering glare. "I just don't see why we couldn't have met around the lake."

"People could have heard us there," Lily reminded her calmly, relaxing into the nearest pile of straw. A permanent crease had begun to form on Rose's head from her upturned nose.

"I just don't see why-"

"Oh, come on, Rose." Hugo grinned at her. "It's not that bad."

"It reeks of feathers and dung," Rose said with great dignity. "Also, my hair is absorbing bits of straw in it."

"Still necessary," Lily reminded her. "Besides, we all had to talk at some point. It may as well be now, in an owlery."

Rose shrugged in a sulky manner, but said no more. Lily was relieved; truth be told, unlike her cousin, she quite enjoyed the owlery. There was always a sense of peace, of quiet. Her Aunt Hermione often told her that she felt the same way about the library; they were both safe havens.

"Roxanne's not here," Albus said suddenly. "Is she alright?" Lily could see that his hand had shifted automatically to his wand, and she felt a sudden pang of sadness. Since when had their days become filled with the idea that someone missing might be in genuine danger?

"She's fine." Hugo waved a hand dismissively, obviously less concerned than his cousins. "She's in the Hospital Wing; Madam Pomfrey wanted to check her vitals again. She's still holding on to the idea that Rox ought to be dead after falling off of a tower."

"What about Lucy?" Albus appeared to be mentally counting their numbers, and he frowned as yet another cousin was proved missing. "Where is she?"

"Who?" Scorpius frowned, looking around as well. "Good lord, is there another one of you?"

Lily, who was too far across the room to properly nudge Scorpius in the side, settled for raising her eyebrows instead. "Lucy Weasley? You might have seen her around." She began ticking things off on her fingers. "About 5'3, Gryffindor house, permanently married to reading materials-"

"Oh!" Scorpius' face lit up. "That one! I sort of thought she was some Hufflepuff fifth year stalking us around all the time, to be honest. Does she ever speak?"

"Of course she does." It was Hugo who spoke, and he was eyeing Scorpius suspiciously. "Why are you so interested in her all of a sudden, Malfoy?"

Lily could already tell where this was going by the protective tone in Hugo's voice. She mentally prayed that Scorpius would work out what she had and back track, but it was Scorpius, and really, what was she expecting? He smiled widely, showing two of us canine teeth.

"I don't know, Weasley. What do you think?"

Lily could have groaned. Hugo's expression was pure loathing, and his entire body tensed. "If you lay a hand on any one of my cousins, Malfoy, I swear to Merlin I will kick your ass from here to Hogsmede."

"Shockingly, you're not the first of your brood to promise that," Scorpius said, feigning a yawn. "Somehow, I'm not all that concerned."

Lily quickly glanced at Albus in surprise. He was watching the exchange with a bland interest, occasionally tapping his wand absent-mindedly on the hay pile beside him. At Scorpius's words he glanced up, stiffening ever so slightly. Lily could see it all over her brother's face; he had most definitely had words with Scorpius.

"_Albus_ _Severus Potter_." She jumped to her feet, planting her hands firmly on her hips, and if Ginny Weasley had been around to see it, she ought to have been proud. "We are having a conversation right now."

She watched as Al swallowed nervously. "So, talk."

"Not here." Lily jerked her head toward the corridor outside of the owlery. "Out there. It's a private conversation."

Albus hesitated a moment, casting a desperate glance at the others. Hugo looked confused, and Rose had a knowing glint in her eyes. Scorpius simply looked amused, grinning as if this was the most entertaining thing he had seen in a while. Al, sensing no help from the others, reluctantly turned to face her again.

"Er-" He shuffled his feet."Actually, I've just remembered somewhere that I've got to be. Rose?" He shot an anxious glance at the red-headed girl. "Are you coming with?"

Rose hesitated, glancing between Lily and Albus in the weary way that parents often did. Eventually, she stood up, moving to stand by Al. "Sorry, Lily. I really do want to go and check on Roxanne."

"Traitor," Lily muttered.

Hugo rose as well, falling into step beside his sister. "I'm going as well. New flying techniques and such." His eyes were aglow with enthusiasm, and Al was already edging towards the door. Lily had the oddest feeling that any attempts to have her cousins remain would be fruitless. Nevertheless, she tried.

"What about the pensieve? We should talk about what happened."

"Right you are," Rose agreed. "I'll mention it to Rox when she gets out. We can summarize it for Lucy and Hugo later."

Lily abandoned all pretences. "But I need to speak with-"

"Sorry, darling sister!" Albus ruffled her hair quickly, already halfway out the door and into the corridor. "I'd love to chat, but I'm horribly late."

Without another word, he slipped through the door frame, darting down the steps towards the Hospital Wing. Rose followed at a fast pace, occasionally calling out in a futile attempt to get him to slow down. Hugo hovered for a moment before locking eyes with Scorpius and turning to leave abruptly, his hands clenched into fists. Lily sighed audibly.

"Was I just abandoned?"

"By the entirety of your family, yes." Scorpius's eyes were sparkling with amusement. "They seemed awfully hasty in their departure."

"I can't believe Albus threatened you." Lily rubbed her temples. "He found out what, two days ago? The _least _he could do is attempt to act civil about it-"

Scorpius made a noise of amusement. "I think he's doing rather well. There were no weapons or curses involved at all."

"Yes, well, that would have ruined the effect." Lily smiled reluctantly. "Al is terrible at jinxes." There was a moment's pause as they stood there, eyes locked. The only sound was the hooting of the owls and the faint scratching of hay as it shifted.

The sudden quiet made her uneasy, as if she was in the eye of the hurricane. The disaster was all around, alluding her, but just close enough that she could sense it. Lily took a deep breath. "It's starting again, isn't it? It all fits together; the Dark Mark, the locket, the things I saw in the pensieve... It's going to be just like last time."

Scorpius stood still. Lily wondered for a moment if he was going to lie, or maybe reassure her that all would be well. But it was Scorpius, and his eyes were a hard blue, and she knew what he was going to say even before he said it.

"It may be starting again, but it's not the same, Lily." He moved closer to her, close enough that she could see herself in his eyes. His hands rested on her shoulders. "This time, it's _our_ fight. You and me; not your parents, or my parents, or different sides of a battlefield. It's just us, together, trying to muddle our way through."

Lily exhaled, resting her forehead against his shoulder. "What if it comes down to a fight?"

His arms wrapped around her waist. "It might."

"What if we don't make it?" she whispered.

He squeezed her once. Twice. "I'm not going to let that happen."

Scorpius kissed her then. It was quick and swift, barely catching the edge of her mouth. It was endearing in a way, Lily thought. The sort of kiss you might give to a fiancee, or a wife. She raised her hand to touch where the kiss had left a tingling sensation on her lips.

"Together," she agreed softly. "Either way it goes down."

o.O.o

_A/N: _Leave a review with your favorite character!


	29. Beginning of the End

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _Happy New Year everyone! Please enjoy this chapter. That will be all.

o.O.o

The nightmares were growing steadily worse.

It was a rare morning that Lily didn't wake up covered in cold sweat, her heart racing and her mind filled with indistinct shadows and grasping hands. Often, she would realize that her wand had somehow become clutched in her hand, as if she had reached for it to fend off the attackers. The days weren't much better, either; simple tasks like eating became difficult, and keeping her eyes open during lessons became a struggle. The only reason Lily hadn't failed potions was a joint effort between Rose and Scorpius; Rose, of course, being the one to help with subject material, and Scorpius being the one to bring her meals and remind her to breathe.

Not that it was any easier for the rest of them. Rose had developed permanent smudges beneath her eyes, and Albus rarely spoke anymore, completely wrapped up in battle strategies and plans. Scorpius was tense and jumpy, going as far as destroying several suits of armor before realizing that they weren't attacking soldiers. Roxanne was more on edge than ever, snapping at any first years that looked her way, and Hugo had even cancelled a quidditch practice.

And yet, no one was more tired than Lucy. Her tiniest cousin looked even more frail than usual, and Lily began to worry that a breeze might blow her over. She had become so thin that her sleeves hung from her wrists, and she moved slowly, as if she hurt everywhere. Lily couldn't remember the last time Lucy had smiled. Needless to say, Lily was definitely not in the best mood of sorts, and the lack of sleep wasn't helping matters.

One particular evening, she was lying awake in the dark, unable to fall asleep yet again, when she felt something inside her snap. All of the long nights and the nightmares and the unfinished breakfasts suddenly hit her at once, and before Lily even realized what she was doing, both of her shoes were on, her wand was in hand, and she was shutting the door to her room softly behind her as she ventured into the night.

The hallways were still that evening. The portraits were uncharacteristically subdued, dozing or whispering quietly to one another. The torchlight turned everything a buttery yellow, and Lily was grateful not to be traveling by wandlight; that often entailed bumping into objects or walls. She wandered aimlessly for a couple minutes, following wherever her feet decided to turn. It wasn't until she stopped that Lily realized she had somewhere she wanted to go all along.

The window nook was cozy, barely large enough for two people to squeeze on to the bench. It was hidden behind a tapestry of a unicorn, and Lily had found it in her third year, though at the time she had been looking for a hiding spot from Hugo and hadn't thought much of it. Now, she thought contentedly, her suspicions had been confirmed; the window nook offered the perfect view of the garden. From here, Lily could just see the Lilium Ignis peeking out from behind the fountain.

She settled herself against the wall, breathing deeply as she surveyed the grounds below. The moon cast the mountains and lake in shadows, making everything appear sinister and unnerving. Even the lights in Hagrid's hut were out. Only the garden, illuminated by the glow of the fountain, was bathed in light.

Lily wasn't entirely certain how long she sat there, but it was long enough that she had gone past feeling into a numbed state of reflection. She thought about Talc, and Rose, and people with broken hearts and how it was so unfair to have one of those, because all you had done was be brave enough to put it out there in the first place. She thought about Louis and Molly and her own broken heart, because that whole situation needed fixing, and yet it wasn't really a problem, was it, so how could she fix it? Lily thought about Anguis and his dead body and her own hands, and how soon there would be more bodies staring back at her, _real_ bodies and not just the ones in her nightmares.

Lily sat there so long that she couldn't remember the last time she had moved any part of her own body, and she wondered if this was what it felt like to be dead.

"_Tu es plus belle que les étoiles._" Lily turned slowly, as if waking from a long slumber. Scorpius stood nearby, watching her with curious eyes, though his mouth was trying not to smile. He ran a hand through his blonde hair. "_Mais, je pense tu es plus belle que la lune, aussi._"

Lily's voice sounded far away to her own ears. "I still don't understand what you're saying."

"Good. You would think that I'm a complete pansy otherwise." He moved closer, scooping her up effortlessly into his arms before settling on to the window bench. His arms wrapped around her waist, and when he spoke, it was into her hair. "I thought I might find you here. Perfect view of the garden, isn't it?"

"A little too perfect." She sighed, relaxing against him. "I don't suppose you want to share how you found me?"

"That part was easy." Scorpius kissed the top of her head. "I watched you practically fall asleep into your ham at supper, Lils. You're exhausted, but Al says that you're not sleeping... And I thought that if you were to go somewhere-" He broke off, his eyes wandering over the gardens. "It's a happy place for me, anyways. I thought it might be a happy one for you too."

"Mmm." She burrowed further into his chest, laying her head against his sternum. Lily could hear the steady beat of his heart, and she exhaled, feeling slightly better. "It is happy, but perhaps a little too much so."

"Oh?" She didn't have to see his face to tell that Scorpius was frowning. "Why's that?"

"It makes me want what I can't have." Her finger traced patterns on his shirt. "It makes me- makes me a little sad, actually. I just wish that we could do this all the time; the garden walks, and the late night cuddling, and the long talks."

She felt his arms tighten around her waist. "We can, and we will. As soon as this thing is over, I swear to you, Lily Potter, we will walk in the garden every evening if you want."

"Really?" She couldn't help but smile. "Every evening?"

His blue eyes were solemn. "If that's what you want."

"You're going to get terribly bored of me."

"Never," he promised.

"Al's going to tease you for wanting to tour gardens."

"I can take him."

"And what if you develop an allergy to flowers?" Lily asked, tilting her head back to smile at him mischievously. "You'll have said my name so often that it will have become a sickness."

Scorpius ran his thumb down the side of her face. "I don't see that being a problem," he said softly.

Lily's heart flipped over in her chest, as it always did when he looked at her like that. She wondered if he could feel the frantic racing of her heart through her chest, and decided that he probably could. "We'll be an ordinary couple then, won't we?"

Scorpius paused a moment, gauging her tone of voice. Lily could already see in his eyes what he had heard; wistfulness, hope, and a touch of disappointment too. He smiled. "I don't think the two of us will ever be ordinary, Lily. But at least nobody will be close to dying every couple of weeks."

Lily nodded, settling against him once again. It was uncanny how Scorpius knew exactly what to say to reassure her, almost as if he could see inside her head. She figured this was probably how he had been able to wind her up so well previously, though whether the boy could actually read her thoughts was still up for debate.

"You can feel it, can't you?" Scorpius asked, and for a bizarre moment, Lily thought he really _could_ read minds. Then she listened to his tone of voice: stressed, and a hint of worry.

"The war, you mean?"

"Yes," he said shortly. "Or whatever it is. I had hoped that it might wait until the summer, but I don't think it will."

"It's June," Lily reminded him, not daring to look up at him. She could feel the patronizing mood coming off of him in waves. "If it just waits a little longer..."

Surprisingly, Scorpius didn't correct her. In fact, he didn't speak for a long time, and when he did, Lily could tell his words were carefully measured. "You could be right. But we should prepare, just in case."

"Do you think-" Lily bit her lip. "I mean, our parents. Do you think that they know about all of this?"

"I think that they would have to be blind not to," Scorpius said evenly. "They saw the mark on the first night, and your father moved the pensieve not too long ago. They're at least suspicious."

"It doesn't mean something has to happen, though." Lily felt the sudden need to point this out, as if Scorpius may never have considered it. "It's better to be safe than sorry, right? Maybe everyone's just overreacting. Absolutely nothing could happen, or maybe it could happen in Alaska or something."

"Maybe," Scorpius said, but he didn't sound convinced.

They sat in silence for a moment. Lily closed her eyes, listening to the steady thumping of his heart against her ear. Ironically, while she was with Scorpius right now, Lily felt safe enough to sleep for the first time in weeks. And yet, she had never wanted to stay awake so badly.

"Don't let me fall asleep," she murmured, stifling a yawn. "I don't want to waste this time."

"I would hardly consider it wasted if you manage to close your eyes for a while." She felt his hands begin to stroke her hair, and Lily resisted the urge to just fall asleep then and there.

"Stop that," she managed, though there was no real force behind her words. She could feel the vibrations in Scorpius's chest as he laughed.

"Only when you close your eyes."

"Not going to," she muttered sleepily, though she could tell it was a losing battle. "Staying... awake."

"Are you now?" He sounded amused. "Alright. Try and stay awake for a couple more minutes, and if you can, I'll walk you back to your dormitory."

"And if I can't?" she yawned.

"I considered dragging you, but then I thought that it might look suspicious." Lily could tell that he was grinning. "Which means that I'll probably have to carry you."

"You don't know the password," she protested weakly.

"Well, we wouldn't be going to your dormitory if you fell asleep." Scorpius played with a stray piece of hair just below her shoulder. "I'd have to take you back to mine and just hope that Al wouldn't strangle me when he saw that we were fully clothed in the morning."

"Strangling is bad," she warned him sleepily. Scorpius chuckled.

"So I've heard."

Lily went back to listening to his heart, marveling at the steady beating of it. It was as if it was a clock, ticking exactly on rhythm, never faltering and never speeding up. "Scorpius?"

"Yeah?"

"Why does your heart beat so steadily?"

"Well, if it didn't, we would have some problems," he said wryly. "The main one being that I would be dead."

"No." Lily frowned, wishing she were more awake so she could phrase things more clearly. "I mean, how come it never speeds up? I'm so scared right now - _unbelievably_ scared - and I'm a Gryffindor. And you just sit there calmly and talk about people coming to kill us and really, Scorpius, why doesn't your heart speed up?"

There was a pause. Lily would have wondered if he too, was close to falling asleep, only he never ceased the stroking of her hair. She began to wonder if she had said something wrong, and she nervously waited for him to answer. After what seemed like ages, he spoke.

"That's a good question."

Lily couldn't help but smile. "Really?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him again. "You took forever to answer my question and all I get is that?"

Scorpius looked offended. "I took less than two minutes."

"You gave me four words."

"Well, I'm sorry if I didn't think up Shakespeare for you." Seeing Lily's blank look, he elaborated. "Muggle author in the 1500's. Dad made me read his works when I was younger."

"Oh." Lily lay back down against him, though this time, she felt much more awake. "Well, could you think of something besides, 'that's a good question?'"

"That's a _really_ good question."

"Scorpius!"

"Alright, alright." She could tell that he was trying not to smile again. "You're asking me why I'm not scared, aren't you?"

It didn't really sound like a question, but Lily answered anyways. "Yes."

He hesitated. "I suppose- I suppose I'm not all that scared because it's not me that I'm frightened for."

"I see." Lily paused a moment to mull over his words. "But you are scared, then?"

"Merlin, yes."

"Of what?"

"You," he said grimly. Seeing her expression, he continued, "Losing you, actually. I couldn't stand it if-" He broke off, squeezing her tightly against him. "I can't imagine what I would do afterwards without you."

Lily's mouth felt dry. "Me too," she said softly. "I worry for you, too. And the idea of-" _Losing you_, she wanted to say, but the words stuck in her throat. She coughed, trying again. "Living in a world without your cryptic french responses and garden walks is difficult to imagine. And I don't want to do it."

The words left her feeling slightly vulnerable and uncertain. She raised her head, meeting his eyes with her own. They were fiercely blue, burning with a heat she hadn't seen before. When he spoke, his words were charged. "Lily?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

He might as well have ran electricity through her. Lily felt those three words shoot through her veins, warming her body with unexpected force. Scorpius had said them without hesitation, without any trace of uncertainty, and she could immediately tell that he had wanted to say them for some time. Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Scorpius shook his head.

"Don't," he advised, smiling slightly. "I don't know what you were going to say, but I don't want you to have to feel like you need to say those words too."

Lily swallowed. "Then when should I say them?"

"Whenever they're true." He kissed her forehead firmly. "Now, come on. Let's get you back to your dormitory before you fall asleep in my bed and Albus tries to murder me."

o.O.o

She should have known better than to fall asleep.

Immediately, she was surrounded by smoke and chaos. Bodies littered the floor like rubbish, crammed into corners and shoved aside to make room. It was loud, louder than Lily would have expected; screams bounded off the walls, impairing her sense of direction. Bright red and green light blurred her vision.

"Lily!"

She felt her body stiffen. Lily knew that voice, knew it better than her own. A feeling of fierce protection filled her, and she clutched her wand tightly, rotating blindly-

"Lily!" It sounded desperate this time, as if the person had been crying. "Help me!"

"Lucy!" Lily ran towards the voice, pushing through the smoke and dirt randomly. A sense of panic guided her. "Lucy, hold on! I'm coming!"

"Hurry," Lucy sobbed, her voice growing louder as Lily neared her. "Please, hurry. He's hurting me!"

In her mind's eye, Lily pictured her cousin curled up into a tiny ball, her knees pulled into her chest. A shadow loomed over her, the wand raising ever so slowly-

An inhuman shriek split the air, accompanied by a loud cracking sound. Lily could tell it was bone, splitting neatly in two. A sob rose over the din. Lily felt her own heart rate increase, and she broke into a sprint, running towards the source of the noise.

"Lucy?" she called, her own voice choked with tears. "Lu? Where are you?"

"I'm here." The voice was weak, barely audible, but it was definitely Lucy. "Please, Lily, hurry..."

And Lily did. She charged into the fray, pushing people aside frantically. She eventually reached a quiet, darker area, and just as she had thought, there was a figure curled up on the ground. Even from a distance, Lily could see that the girl was in pain, her hair matted with dark spots of blood. Her elbow was bent at an awkward angle; the crack that Lily had heard.

"My god." She ran to the girl's side, examining the elbow without bothering to look elsewhere. "Lucy, your elbow-"

"Not..." The girl appeared to be struggling for words, though it was clear she was weakened. Lily shook her head, her eyes never leaving the elbow.

"Shh, Luce, be quiet. Save your energy." She turned the elbow over carefully, her mind distractedly going through potential spells she knew to heal it. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Lily..."

"I'm here." Would a setting charm work? Lily wasn't certain the elbow was positioned properly enough to be set, and though it might hold for a while, eventually the charm would break and they would be back to square one. Plus, it wouldn't enable her to fight. "Luce, I know you're in pain right now, but do you think we should set your elbow? Does it feel like it's in the right position?"

"Lily, listen... to me."

But Lily was entirely focused on the task at hand. Her hands ran up and down the joint, turning it this way and that. It was funny, but in the dim lighting, the skin looked almost mocha colored. Not unlike... Lily's head shot up, staring into her cousin's eyes. Roxanne looked back at her, her dark eyes wide and frightened.

"Run," she said.

But Lily was frozen to the spot. Her hands were trembling, and a chill had come over her. "Roxanne? But I heard- I thought that I heard Lucy-"

"You did."

Lily whipped around, turning to find Lucy looking at them with an expression of intent curiosity. Her eyes were calculating, and she tapped her wand absent-mindedly on the side of her robes. She studied the two of them as if they were an interesting science experiment. Lily suddenly felt very cold.

"Lucy?" she asked. "What- I don't understand. I thought you were injured."

"So you did," Lucy agreed. She looked neither troubled nor upset by this, merely curious, as if her specimen had responded a certain way and she intended to record the results. "Your response time was rather impressive; less than a minute, actually."

Lily, who had not shook the cold feeling that had overtook her, shielded Roxanne with her body. "Lucy, what the hell are you playing at?"

Lucy laughed. Not her usual laugh full of warmth and amusement, but a high, cold laugh. It made the hair on the back of Lily's neck rise. "Have you ever watched a lion make its kill, Lily? It stalks its pray for miles. The lion learns their weaknesses and their strengths, observes their every move. Then, when the lion is confident, it divides the group. And then it kills them." Her teeth glittered when she smiled. "Every last one of them."

Lily gritted her teeth. "You're crazy."

"So I've heard." Lucy twirled her wand between her fingers, stroking the end of it lovingly. "In fact, that's exactly what Hugo said."

Lily felt something icy go down her spine. "Hugo?"

"Yes. I must admit, I was a little disappointed with him." Lucy smiled, tilting her head. Her grey eyes were hard steel. "He didn't make it all that fun in the end. Tried to bargain for that girl's life. No fight from him, whatsoever, so long as I spared Annie." She looked vaguely amused. "Silly boy."

Roxanne let out something like a choked sob. Lily grasped her shoulder without turning away from Lucy, squeezing it tightly. "The others won't trust you. They'll realize what you're doing before you can get to them."

"Really?" Lucy raised her eyebrows. "That's funny, because that's exactly what they said about you." She shrugged. "Before I killed all of them."

Roxanne was definitely crying now. Lily wasn't certain if she was too; her entire body felt numb, and when she spoke, she was surprised the words were coming from her. "You're lying."

"Am I?" Lucy grinned. "Albus and Rose died separately. They put up more of a fight than Hugo, but of course, they couldn't win." She shrugged, as if they were discussing a quidditch match. "Rose was crying. I think what really finished her was the fact that Hugo was already dead. Didn't want to live anymore, the poor girl."

Lily felt something collapse in her. "No."

"Oh, yes," Lucy said, smiling broadly. "And Scorpius was the same. I almost felt _bad_ lying about your death, the poor fellow was so distraught-"

"_No_!" she screamed, resisting the urge to cover her ears. "Stop it!"

"Do you want to know what his last words were?" Lucy grinned maliciously, her eyes sparkling merrily. "They were quite good, actually."

"Shut up," Lily said quietly.

But Lucy pressed on. "He said, 'Together, Lily. Just like we promised.' Isn't that just the sweetest thing?"

"_Shut-up_!" Lily roared. Her wand hand was shaking, almost urging her to let the magic go. She closed her eyes briefly. But still, she hesitated. "This isn't you."

"Isn't it?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't really know me, Lily Potter. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Fine, then." Lily slowly rose to her feet, dropping her wand behind her. Roxanne made a sound like a whimper. "Kill me."

A flicker of uncertainty ran across her cousin's face. "What?"

"Kill me," she repeated. "If you're so evil and twisted as to kill our family, which I don't think you did, then kill me too."

Lucy hesitated. "I-"

"Not backing down, are you?" Lily spread her hands wide, giving Lucy optimum access to her heart. "Go on, then. Say the words."

For a moment, Lily truly wondered if Lucy was going to do it. Her wand hand was raised, and red sparks shot from the end of it. She could see the flicker of indecision on her face. Then, Lucy hissed in frustration. "This is foolish!"

"Exactly what I thought." Lily lowered her hands, a smug smile crossing her face. "You're nothing but a lot of words, Lucy. You can't kill anyone more than you could kill a fly."

Immediately, she realized that she had gone too far. Something in her cousin's face switched, and the steely mask was back. Lucy raised her wand calmly, narrowed it at Lily's chest, and said quite clearly, "Avada Kedavra."

There was a flash of green light. Lily felt as if she was floating for a moment, suspended in time and space. She saw Lucy's calm expression, a mask of certainty and content. Roxanne was screaming loudly.

And then, everything was gone.

o.O.o

"Lily!"

She woke up gasping, covered in cold sweat. Her hair was falling loose from its hold in a ponytail, and strands of red stuck to her face. Her wand was gripped tightly in her hand. More alarming was the fact that somebody was inches from her face, their eyes large and frantic.

Lily sat up abruptly, willing her heart rate to calm. Roxanne was sitting at the end of her bed, completely dressed and wand in hand. Immediately, Lily felt a sense of dread fill her.

"What's happened?"

"Death Eater's," Roxanne said hurriedly, jumping up from where she sat to toss Lily a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. "They've surrounded the castle. Put those on, quickly."

Without a second thought, Lily stripped off her pajamas, shoving the tee-shirt over her head. She began to button the pants. "Plan of action?"

"There isn't one." Roxanne's face was grim. She pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, securing the ends. "Hogwarts is in a mass panic. Professors McGonagall and Longbottom are trying to send some of the younger students out through some sort of secret passage, but it sounds like there's Death Eater's on that end as well."

"So, what?" Lily pulled her trainers on, barely aware of what she was doing. "We're just going to sit here until they invade the castle?"

"No, not exactly." Roxanne's voice was hard, and she already had one hand on the door. "We're gathering in the Great Hall to work out some sort of strategy. The problem is that people can't apparate in, and we've had to close off any floo networks for security purposes. It's not likely that there's going to be reinforcements."

Lily felt her stomach flip nervously. "Where are the others?"

"Already downstairs." Roxanne bit her lip. "And Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Lucy's missing."

o.O.o

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	30. Betrayal

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter. It is doubtful that I ever will. It belongs to J.K. Rowling, who is far more talented than I!

A/N: Wow! I have the best readers ever. Thank-you all for your reviews and awesome opinions; I very much appreciated them. Please enjoy this update!

o.O.o

"It's my fault," Hugo said yet again, running a hand agitatedly through his hair. It stuck up in random red clumps, as if someone had electrocuted him. Lily sighed, tapping her wand nervously on her trousers.

"It's not your fault, Hugo," she said automatically, only half-paying attention. "It's nobody's fault. Lucy would tell you the same thing if she was here."

They were gathered in the Great Hall, packed in among the mass of panicking students. Hugo, Roxanne and Lily had taken up residence at the far end of the Gryffindor table, as close to the doors as they could get. It had become a painful routine; every time they opened, Roxanne would look up hopefully, Lily would try not to look, and Hugo, upon seeing that it wasn't Lucy, would declare that it was his fault yet again.

"But I saw her," he moaned, burying his face in his hands. "Less than an hour ago! I was in such a rush to put away the brooms that I didn't even stop to say hi to her. What if she was in _trouble_? Or- or-"

"Hugo, stop it!" Roxanne snapped, her voice a little too sharp. "If you say it's your fault one more time, I'm going to hang you from the ceiling and summon cornish pixies to torment you."

Hugo looked appropriately mollified. "But-"

"She's right." Lily put a bracing arm on her best friend's shoulder. "You're going to drive yourself crazy. She's probably just running a little late."

"Everyone's already here."

"Scorpius isn't," Lily pointed out, trying to keep her voice casual and not like she had been staring at the place where Albus and Rose stood for the past ten minutes. "He should be here, but he's not. And you don't see anybody panicking about that."

Except for her, of course. Lily was panicking.

"This is stupid," Roxanne announced, jumping up from her position at the table. Her hands were knotted into fists. "We're sitting ducks in here! How the hell do they think this is helping matters?"

Lily, who noticed the frightened expressions on several nearby students, shot her cousin a stern look. "Rox-"

"It's true! They may as well serve us up on a gilded platter!" Roxanne's eyes were ablaze, and when she spoke, her voice had taken on a mimicking quality. "Oh _look_, scary Death Eater's! Here's a couple hundred Hogwarts students for you! We've conveniently trapped them here in this hall for you to kill. Please only use environmentally-friendly bombs."

"Roxanne!" Lily tugged her stewing cousin back into her seat, giving a nearby group of fifth-year Gryffindor's an apologetic look. Her voice was a harsh whisper when she spoke. "Cut it out! People are _terrified_ right now, and you're not helping matters."

"Yes, mum." Roxanne rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "I'll just sit here as enemy forces storm the castle. Call me when its supper time."

"Students!"

Immediately, the hall grew quiet, every person falling silent to listen for news. It was almost an eery sensation, and Lily wondered briefly if they had all died, if this would have been what it felt like. Professor Longbottom stood calmly at the front of the hall, both of his hands raised in a gesture for silence. To his right, Professor McGonagall appeared to be in deep conversation with one of the castle's ghosts.

Neville cleared his throat. "As many of you are aware, the castle is being threatened by enemy forces." Lily noticed that he was careful not to say the words "Death Eater's", and wondered briefly for a moment whether this was an attempt to avoid more panic or simply because many students would not understand the reference. As if to answer her question, Neville began again.

"We must, of course, try to remain calm under the circumstances. Fifth-years and below will be escorted to the dungeons, where there will be strict measurements taken for your protection. Sixth and seventh years..." His expression was pained. "We will also attempt to keep you out of harm's way, though it is likely that you will be using defensive curses."

"Naturally, we have alerted the Ministry," Professor McGonagall said, turning away from the ghost to address the crowd. "They are doing their absolute best to send a team of auror's to Hogwarts."

"We must work as efficiently as possible." Neville paused, surveying them all grimly. He looked as if he would like to say more, then clearly decided against it. He nodded, squaring his shoulders. "Fifth-years and below, with me. We will have to move quickly, please, and not a word from any of you."

Lily rather thought it was like watching a funeral procession. Wide-eyed and solemn, the younger students gathered in a makeshift line, trailing after Professor Longbottom in various states of undress. The first-years were huddled close together, as if they could protect one another physically through numbers.

The minute the door shut behind them, the volume swelled dramatically. People with ashen faces conversed with wide gestures, knocking things off tables and walls. A couple girls were crying in the corner, completely disregarding any attempt at bravery. Evidently, Professor McGonagall had given up trying to get control of the room, and was instead drawing very maps in the air with her wand.

Lily wasn't sure how long passed. It could have been a minute, or it could have been an hour. Her eyes never strayed very far from the door and at one point, she couldn't remember who she had been looking for. Any girl that slipped through could have been Lucy, and any boy with blonde hair was Scorpius.

It was only when the room erupted in flame that she sat up.

For a moment, everything was still. People watched the flames, entranced, as they climbed up the walls, licking the portraits with their fiery tongues. They were beautiful in a way, Lily thought dazedly. A sort of quietly powerful dance.

Then she realized that they were all about to die and nobody was moving.

Rose was the first to scream. It was the type of cry that ran straight through your veins, searing themselves into your flesh and bone. Suddenly, the entire hall was screaming, and wands were drawn. Jets of water arced through the air, striking the fire in a vain attempt to stop the spreading flame.

For about three seconds, Lily was entirely certain they were going to die. She sought for Albus in the crowd, and upon catching sight of him, let out a sigh of relief. He had rolled up his shirt sleeves and was methodically spraying down a girl with long dark hair, whose clothes had gone up in flames. Porella, if Lily had to guess. She mentally said a last good-bye, clung to Hugo's forearm as the flames closed in, thought of her mother and father and a boy with blue eyes-

The heat vanished. Sweet oxygen flowed into her lungs, pure and untainted. Next to her, Roxanne was hacking up smoke, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Hugo was grinning ear-to-war. "Check out McGonagall," he murmured in her ear.

Their professor stood in the center of the hall, conducting the flames in a sort of ballet. They danced in a circle for a moment, diving and swooping, before vanishing altogether. Students ceased their screaming. Water charms were stopped.

McGonagall surveyed them grimly from the center of the room. Her glasses were askew, and her gray hair was falling down from its tight coil. Her lips were set in a thin line.

"Students," she said shortly. "I see no benefit in us remaining in the hall. Quite clearly, no doors are going to be able to halt the attack. If you would please evacuate in small groups of three or four and attempt to apparate to safety, that would be greatly appreciated-"

"But professor," a seventh-year Ravenclaw called, "you can't apparate inside of Hogwarts!"

Professor McGonagall's eyes were sharp. "Very good, Mr. Mulligan," she said in a clipped tone. "It only took seven years for you to realize that, did it?" The boy flushed an alarming shade of red, but said nothing. McGonagall continued, her lips pursed as if she had been sucking on a sour lemon. "As Mr. Mulligan has just kindly pointed out, you will need to leave the grounds to apparate. As should be apparent, there are enemy forces outside of these walls."

Lily thought she might have faltered a little at these words, as if a sudden memory had come back to her. Nevertheless, her professor pressed on. "That being said, there is an emergency tunnel beneath the school through a statue of a hag that leads directly to Hogsmede. Any students wishing to evacuate should follow The Grey Lady, here, who will be kind enough to direct you." Her voice suddenly turned hard. "As for the rest of you... if you have no wish to evacuate, I will not discourage you from fighting. But heed my warning carefully; more experienced wizards and witches have fought and not left victors. I have been witness to many occasions that were such."

Her lips were so pinched together that they had almost turned white. With a brief nod to the student body, Professor McGonagall went back to her charts, carrying on as if nothing had ever happened. Immediately, the hall escalated in volume once more, students tripping over one another to decide what to do. Lily noticed that a dozen students were already crowded around the door to go.

She turned back towards her cousins, both of whom were wearing solemn expressions. Roxanne laid her wand on the table, pulling at her dark curly hair in frustration.

"Staying or going?" she asked.

Hugo and Lily glanced at one another. "Staying," they decided in unison.

Roxanne nodded. "Me, too."

It felt like that was all that needed to be said, and so the three lapsed into silence. Lily hardly noticed when Albus and Rose drifted over, accompanied by Porella and Talc. The former two looked slightly awkward with the situation, but had serious expressions on. Lily wondered briefly whether it was their parents standing outside.

She looked at her brother. "You're staying, then."

It wasn't a question, and Albus didn't take it as one. Instead, he nodded briefly, his expression hard. "Scorpius is missing. Of course I'm staying."

"Malfoy isn't here?" Hugo looked up abruptly, as if this was the first time he had thought about it. "Where is he?'

Albus and Porella exchanged a look. "No idea."

"That _git_." Hugo's face clouded over, and his grip tightened around his wand. "I'll kill him." His eyes were hard as steel, and for a moment, just briefly, Lily truly believed that he could kill someone. Then she shook her head. It was _Hugo_.

"What do you mean?"

"I would think it's quite obvious," he growled. "Malfoy's one of those hooded blokes surrounding the school."

Lily felt her pulse quicken. "No."

"Then why isn't he here?" Hugo demanded. "Why isn't he in the Great Hall right now?"

"Hugo, that's ridiculous." Lily tried her best to sound calm, though she was anything but. Her hand itched to smack her cousin across the face and make him see sense. "You could just as easily be saying that about Lucy! Or- or _Annie_-"

Immediately, Hugo was on his feet. "Don't talk about her like that."

"Then where is she?" Some part of Lily knew she was being cruel, but she couldn't stop herself. Some part of her wanted Hugo to hurt as badly as she did, understand what it was like to have someone you loved accused of treachery. "Where is our darling chaser?"

"Cut it out, Lily!"

"Or don't you know?" Lily asked smugly. "Where is she, Hugo?"

"_She left_!" Hugo shouted. "Are you happy now? Annie left!"

This was met with a ringing silence from their group. Hugo looked anguished, and when he sat down, it was as if he had aged several years. Roxanne looked outraged. Only Talc, who had apparently not caught on, shifted from foot to foot.

"Er, so did half the school," he pointed out awkwardly. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"You don't leave if you're a Gryffindor," Lily explained, her eyes never leaving Hugo. He was staring sightlessly at the fireplace, as if wishing that the earlier flames had consumed him. "You're supposed to lead the battle charges. Any option to leave isn't really an option."

"Well, I think that's ridiculous." Porella brushed her hair out of her eyes impatiently. "You can't be expected to die for something if you don't want to. Then it's not brave at all; it's like a requirement."

"It doesn't matter either way." Roxanne's voice was grim. For once, it didn't sound as if her cousin wanted a fight, Lily thought in surprise. It sounded as if the words just needed to be said. "We're raised and trained as soldiers. Everything in Gryffindor house encourages it; we get points for rule-breaking, rewards for good jinxes." She shrugged. "We're hardened for battle. Even our parents encourage it, most of the time."

Lily stood up abruptly, her head spinning. "His parents."

Roxanne looked appropriately confused. "What?"

"Scorpius's parents." Suddenly, it was all making sense to her, as if the puzzle pieces were aligning themselves in her head. She looked frantically at her brother. "Al, he'll try and find his father."

Albus was ashen. "He wouldn't."

"It's Scorpius," Porella said, her tone solemn. "Of course he would."

Lily was already on her feet, racing through the doors. She could hear Roxanne close behind her, calling her name repeatedly, but she didn't stop to listen. Her feet made odd sounds on the hallways as she ran, and she remembered running away a long time ago, pursued by her brother with an explanation as to why the boy she was now trying to save wasn't so bad after all.

It was funny how these things worked.

"Oi, Potter!"

Lily glanced up, her heart faltering in her chest. And there he was, running down the corridor at full speed, looking all the part of a soldier running into battle. His blue eyes were smoldering, and he kept his gaze trained on her. Lily felt her pulse quicken.

"Scorpius," she breathed. She coughed to hide her relief, cutting her eyes to where Roxanne stood. "Good. Where were y-"

She cut off as his lips crashed onto hers, unmatched in their urgency. She stood, stunned, as he kissed her hard, picking her up in a single motion. Her body reacted automatically, and her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. His hands ran the length of her back, stroking from her lower back up to the base of her spine. She shivered, pressing against him harder, as if they could become one.

He gasped, just once, and pulled her body flush against his. She felt goosebumps erupt along her arms as the bare skin beneath her jumper brushed his forearm. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it was over. He kissed her once more on the forehead.

"I love you," she said softly, memorizing the feel of him in her arms. His grin filled the room.

"I love you, too."

"Please don't do anything stupid." She looked up at him, eyes entreating. "I know you want to go after your father, Scorpius, but please don't."

His eyes were pained. "Lily-"

"I know." And she did. "You have to. But remember the part about not doing anything stupid, at least."

He grinned. "I will."

And with that, he was gone, carrying on down the corridor at full speed. Lily watched him go with a smile. Next to her, Roxanne let out a low whistle.

"Nothing like a quick snog to put you in the mood for battle," she said. She sounded completely at ease, as if this was a regular occurrence. "In other news, the defences are down and Lucy's still missing. Care to take a break from your whirlwind romance for a second?"

Looking about in surprise, Lily realized she was right. People were rushing all around them, gripping their wands as if they were swords. Jets of red and green filled the hallway, accompanied by shouts and the occasional scream. Lily, her heartbeat quickening, drew her own wand.

"Let's go," she said grimly.

It was everything from her nightmares combined. The scent of smoke and a sweet, decaying rot filled her lungs as she ran, making everything blurry and confused. Lily found herself nervous to cast spells on the grounds that she might be doing more damage than help. Everyone was a shadowy figure, and it was impossible to tell who was who in the din.

"Don't go too far," she advised, never taking her eyes off the path ahead of them. Silence. She frowned, turning around. "Rox-"

Suddenly, Lily felt a paw-like hand on her shoulder, and her head smacked against stone. A jarring shock ran through her body, moving from her head and down her spine to her lower back. Her vision blurred and then settled. A man loomed over her, his smile a blinding white in the dark. His hand clamped tightly around her throat. "Hello, love."

Lily felt like she couldn't breathe. "Get off of me."

This seemed to amuse him. His hand tightened, cutting off her oxygen supply. "I don't think I will."

Without a second thought, Lily elbowed him hard in the stomach, kicking out wildly. Her attack evidently caught the man by surprise and he stumbled back a couple feet, enough for her to get a proper grip on her wand. In a scarily calm manner, she raised it, swallowing hard.

"Petrificus Totalus," she said clearly.

The man's muscles seized, reminding her horribly of Anguis. His eyes were wide with surprise. Lily stood over him, hesitating. Despite all of her nightmares, she had never once thought about what to do in a situation like this. It wasn't exactly like she could just leave him to recover and undoubtedly attack more innocent people. And yet, she was most definitely not killing him.

"Avada Kedavara!"

There was a green flash, and Lily instinctively closed her eyes. When she opened them, the man had gone entirely still. Lily felt something like horror rise in her throat, choking her just like the man had. Lucy stood beside her, a hard expression in her eyes.

"He would have killed us otherwise," she said seriously. Lily couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Lucy!" Roxanne appeared out of the smoke. There was dirt smudged from her temple down to her jaw, and a long scratch ran across her collarbone. "Where the hell have you been? We've been looking everywhere-" She broke off abruptly, her eyes widening as she took in the body. "Holy shit."

Lucy shrugged. "It had to be done."

"_You _did this?" Roxanne demanded, turning to look at her incredulously. "I didn't think - well, I thought maybe Lily..."

Lily, who had the urge to vomit, shook her head doggedly. "Not me."

"Look, we have to keep moving." Lucy nudged the body aside with the toe of her boot, wrinkling her nose as if it was a bothersome piece of dirty rubbish instead of a human, dead on the floor. "We're Gryffindor, home of the lions. Keep on fighting, right?"

_Lions. _The word registered somewhere in the deep recesses of Lily's brain, and with a striking clarity, Lily's dream came back to her all at once. Lucy, her expression hard, casting the same curse she had just moments ago. Killing her. Killing them all.

Her throat felt very dry. "Luce-"

"There's no time." Her cousin gave her a stern look. "Come on, Lily. We have to get to the library - I said that we'd meet the others there."

A coil of doubts had knotted in the pit of her stomach. "I-"

"_Please_, Lily." Lucy's eyes had filled with tears, and for the first time, she looked like her usual self. "I'll explain once we get there. But please, we don't have much time." Her hands were shaking, and she looked entreatingly at her. "You just have to trust me." Lily felt a jolt of sympathy. She remembered the feeling after she had killed Anguis; the guilt, the horror. Lucy must be falling apart on the inside, and here she was, trying to be brave for the two of them.

Lily made a split-second decision. "Lead the way."

The three of them started off at a run, weaving in and out of people. Lucy took the front, her eyes steely and determined, and Lily brought up the back. She was glad to be close to Roxanne; they worked as a flawless team, Roxanne casting shield charms while Lily blasted rounds of curses at anybody that got in their way. They rounded the final corner to the library when, for the second time, Lily felt herself collide with a wall.

Her head struck stone, and a jolt of pain ran through her, unmatched by anything she had ever felt before. Her hands curled instinctively into fists around her temples. Her feet hit the ground, hard, but somehow, she managed to stay standing.

Two figures stood illuminated in the torch light - a man and a woman if she had to guess - and both wore expressions of glee, as if Christmas had come early. Upon doing a quick scan, Lily determined that Roxanne had been thrown against the opposite wall, and judging by the size of the knot on her head, she wouldn't be moving anytime soon. Lucy was slumped at her feet, although her wand was clutched tightly in her hand and her eyes were open and alert.

"Harry Potter's daughter." It was definitely a woman. Long blonde hair spilled down her back, though her face was hidden behind a mask. Still, Lily could tell that she was smiling. "And his nieces. I bet you're worth more than your share of galleons, aren't you?"

"You're a Malfoy." Lily wasn't sure how she knew this, but she said it like a fact. The woman was definitely smiling now.

"Very good! Narcissa Malfoy, to be exact." Her gaze swept over them, evidently appraising her findings. "I should hope the other two are intelligent as well. It always makes the price better, doesn't it, Yaxley?"

_Yaxley. _Lily, despite herself, was suddenly very curious. "You're Porella's father."

The man made a sound like a pained grunt. "She is no daughter of mine." Lily felt a twinge of sympathy for the dark-haired girl. She had seen what being disowned by one's family could do to a person; no wonder Porella was such a raging basket case.

"Enough of this." Narcissa smiled sharply, showing row upon row of flawless teeth. "Yaxley, immobilize them, then secure them with rope."

"I don't think so." Lily stepped carefully over Lucy's injured form, ignoring the throbbing in her head. "You see, I really don't fancy being tied up. It does horrible things for one's skin."

"Isn't that sweet." Narcissa smiled again. "You think that you have a choice."

"Look," Lily said, suddenly very irritated, "I've already been knocked around by one asshole today, and to tell you the truth, I'm becoming rather sick of being rudely smashed into brick walls. So let's make this simple; let us go, or things will go down."

Narcissa let out a tinkling laugh. "I'd like to see you try, dearie."

And just like that, Lily exploded. As if of its own accord, her wand raised, shooting gold and purple jets of light from the end from the end. They smacked Yaxley hard in the chest, throwing him hard into the nearest wall. Unfortunately, he was so large that this merely enraged him.

Narcissa's smile vanished. Beams of colors flew from the tip of her wand, landing precisely where Lily's head had been moments before. In some sort of bizarre dance, the two of them circled one another, throwing curses and jinxes, and anything Lily could think of at the time, really. Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead, but she never slowed, feinting and dodging as she did with bludgers during quidditch training.

She had no idea how long they fought for, but it appeared that her attackers never tired. Lily began to go weak in the knees, panting more than was comfortable and occasionally missing a spell only by inches. Narcissa began to laugh, lobbing an increasing amount of attacks with an unmatched stamina. Lily feinted left, knowing that she was almost out of time, knowing she couldn't last-

Her wand clattered to the floor before rolling to a stop halfway down the hall.

Narcissa grinned triumphantly, and Yaxley guffawed deep in his throat. Lily fell back against the wall, closing her eyes briefly. This was it. She had failed to save herself, and she had failed to save her family. All she could do now was wait for the inevitable end, wait for the ropes to bind her arms to her sides-

"Expelliarmus!"

Red light exploded across the back of Lily's eyelids. She could hear a loud crunching sound as flesh struck ground, hard, and there was a snap as if bone had been broken. Then, nothing. She opened her eyes cautiously. Lucy and Roxanne stood on opposite sides of the corridor, their faces hard. Lucy clutched her wand firmly in her hand, and Roxanne's had evidently been flung from her by the impact of the spell.

"Into the library," Lucy said, her gaze never leaving the crumpled forms on the ground. "Now."

Lily didn't hesitate. Despite her throbbing head, she managed to prop open the library door, motioning for Roxanne to hurry in. Somewhere further down the corridor, she heard Lucy summon their wands hurriedly. Her cousin was covered in dirt and grime, but when she came into view, her eyes gleamed with something like... excitement.

Lily felt a bolt of cold slide down her spine. "Lucy-"

The library door shut behind them, and Lily heard the click of a lock. Lucy grinned, twirling all three wands in her hand like a ringmaster. Her voice was gleeful when she spoke.

"What did I say?" she asked, raising her voice. Her eyes were bright and full of anticipation. "Dear cousins, Lily Potter has failed you. Not even she was strong enough to stop me from killing you."

o.O.o

A/N: Read and review please! Paying close attention to the latter, of course. And yes, I intend to continue upping the intensity of the cliffhangers. Just wait until the end of next chapter :)


	31. One Too Many Wrongs

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter, as it all belongs to the wonderful, imaginative J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _Wow! I was overwhelmed by the number of lovely reviews all of you left. Please keep up the good work, guys!

o.O.o

Lily felt her breath catch. "No."

"Oh, yes." Lucy's smile was wicked. With a casual flick of her wand, the locks on the remaining doors slid shut, and a resounding _click_ echoed through the library. Her cousin's smile grew. "Much better."

Lily shook her head slowly. "Lucy, this isn't you. Listen, I don't know if you're under the imperius curse or what's going on, but we will find out who did this to you-"

"Who did this to me?" Lucy echoed incredulously, her voice slightly hysterical. "Who _did_ this to me? Listen carefully, _cousin_." Her voice grated harshly on the word, and her lip curled in displeasure. "If I was under the imperius curse, I think the caster would long have gone insane after months of removing and reapplying it." Her eyes were oddly feral. "Nobody has ever laid a hand on me, and I want you to know it."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Lucy?" Roxanne asked, her hands balling into fists. "You're acting insane." She had moved to Lily's side, though Lily could see that her cousin was still in pain. Roxanne walked slowly and deliberately, as if every step was a fresh wound. Lucy's smile widened.

"Oh, Roxanne," she sighed. "Brave, wonderful, Roxanne. Roxanne, who can do no wrong. Roxanne, who for _years_ walked all over her poor little cousin, never bothering to give her anything more than a sarcastic retort." Lucy's eyes narrowed, though her mouth never stopped smiling. "You'll be fun to kill." She ran her hands casually over their wands, and when Lily looked, she could see that Lucy clutched a bundle of roughly seven.

Lily's mouth felt dry. "Where are they?"

"Hmm?" Lucy smiled sweetly.

"The others." Lily struggled to keep her voice even. "Where are they?"

"Dead." Lucy twirled one of the wands experimentally, her tone conversational. "They were rather uncooperative, I'm afraid. Something had to be done."

And then she grinned.

_She grinned._

Lily felt something inside of her snap. Before she realized what she was doing, she flung herself at Lucy, her hands reaching out to claw at her cousin's face. She distantly heard Roxanne screaming, Lucy laughing, and before she knew what had happened, Lily was on the floor.

Lucy's feet made echoing sounds on the stone as she stepped towards her. When she reached her, she bent down so that they were eye to eye. "You didn't seriously think that I'd forget to do a shield charm, did you?"

An odd whooshing sound began to ring in her ears. "I should kill you."

"How?" Lucy asked with amusement. "It's not like you have a wand, and you can't physically hurt me." She leaned in so close that Lily could see her own reflection staring back at her. "You don't even have a bludger."

Lily recoiled. "_You_," she said sharply. "You were the one to send the bludger after me during the match."

Lucy shrugged. "Not one of my better plans, I'll admit. But even you could see that-"

"Lily!"

They both turned abruptly to see Roxanne hovering anxiously in the far corner of the library, her face flooded with relief. Her hands were working anxiously on what appeared to be ropes. When she spoke, her words were hurried. "Don't listen to her! Come here, quickly."

Lily shot a sideways glance at Lucy, but she appeared impassive. Hastily, Lily jumped up, running swiftly to where Roxanne was crouching. Her heart faltered in her chest; around her cousin were several crumpled forms, their hands tied behind their backs. Roxanne was working furiously to untangle their ropes.

"I thought I might have been imagining them," she was explaining, but it sounded far away and funny to Lily's ears. "But then I came over here and checked, and sure enough-" She broke off, her tone annoyed. "Lily? Why aren't you helping me?"

Lily felt like she was about to vomit. Before she could stop herself, she mentally tallied, identifying each victim. Talc, Rose and Hugo lay in twisted positions, their arms around one another as if they had attempted to shield the others from harm. Albus was a few feet away, his hair falling into his face. He looked peaceful, as if he was sleeping. Four bodies. Four people she loved, dead.

Lily pressed hard on her stomach, willing herself to breathe properly. "Rox-"

"What?" her cousin snapped. She turned to look at Lily, an expression of irritation on her face. Then her expression softened. "Oh, no! Lily, they're not dead! I checked; they have a pulse." She grabbed Lily's hand abruptly, placing it on Al's chest. "See?"

Lily felt something flutter beneath her fingertips, though the pulse was feeble. Still, hope sprung anew inside of her. "They're alive?"

"They're alive," Roxanne confirmed, her hands still working on the ropes. "Whatever Lucy did to them, it won't kill them immediately."

"Very _good_!"

Lily jumped. Lucy was leaning casually against a table behind her, watching the scene unfolding with unintelligible eyes. The wands were still fisted tightly in her hands. There was no trace of humor in her voice when she spoke, only a genuine curiosity. "Do you honestly still think you can save them? Or is this just Gryffindor instincts kicking in?"

Roxanne looked at her with pure loathing. "You wouldn't know a thing about being a Gryffindor."

"How sweet." Lucy circled towards her. Her steps were faintly predatory, similar to a lion playing with its prey. "Loyalty until the end. Our parents would be so proud."

"Not of you." Roxanne's voice was hard, but there was an undercurrent of something else that Lily couldn't identify. Grief, maybe. Her cousin had stopped fidgeting with the ropes, and had risen to her feet. She swept her arms in an encompassing gesture. "Not of _this_!"

"You know, I grow tired of this," Lucy said, her voice hard. "I believe that it's time for you to join dear Uncle Fred. _Avada Kedav-"_

_ "_Wait!"

Before she knew what she was doing, Lily threw herself in front of Roxanne, raising an arm to ward off the spell. Lucy hesitated, either from surprise or curiosity Lily wasn't sure, but she talked quickly in case of the former.

"Kill me instead," she said, ignoring Roxanne's shout of protest. She locked eyes with Lucy. "Think about it! You can wake the others up, and they can watch me die. It's everything you ever wanted, right?"

Lucy's eyes were unfocused. "Everything I ever wanted."

"You can show the others how powerful you are now," Lily coaxed her, trying to keep her breathing even. "Show them that you're the best of them all."

"Best of them all," Lucy echoed.

"Yes." Lily licked her lips. "But you have to wake them up first."

For a brief moment, Lily thought that it might work. Lucy looked torn, her gaze darting between the crumpled forms on the floor and her wand. Lily could feel Roxanne's nails digging into her back, but she wasn't speaking anymore. They both waited, the moment perched on the tip of a knife, waiting to fall, and then-

"I know what you're doing."

Lucy looked suddenly lucid again. She tapped her wand repeatedly on her thigh, and her eyes were shrewd. "You're trying to trick me. I can tell."

"How?" Lily asked reasonably. She was scrambling for something, anything. "You have all the wands, and I can't physically hurt you. You've already won."

"I didn't say that I knew _how_," Lucy snapped. "Now shut-up! I'm trying to think." She brushed back her hair impatiently, revealing a thin line of silver extending from her ear down her neck. Lily's blood froze.

"What's that?"

"I said be quiet!" Lucy shouted, her voice echoing off the shelves. "What part of that don't you understand?"

Lily fell silent. She felt her shoulders trembling and for a brief moment thought that it was Roxanne before realizing that no, it was _her_. She bit down on her lip, hard. _Gryffindor. _She was a gryffindor.

"Look-"

"_Shut-up_!" Lucy roared.

"No," Lily said seriously. "I don't think I will."

Ignoring Roxanne's sharp inhale, she stepped forward, moving slowly towards her cousin. Lucy stood planted firmly, watching Lily carefully, as if she was a science experiment that might go wrong after all. Lily raised her hands slowly. "Wake them up, Lucy. Then you can kill me."

"I don't take orders from you," she hissed, though her eyes were darting between her wand and the bodies nervously. Perfect.

"It's not an order." Lily shrugged, trying to keep her voice nonchalant. "It's an offering. My life for theirs."

"_No_!" Roxanne yelled. Both of them ignored her.

Lucy's interest was piqued. "And why wouldn't I just kill all of you? You have nothing to trade."

"Actually, I do." Lily took another cautious step forward, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on Lucy's face and not the wand pointed at her. "I know something about Molly. Something that will help you destroy her."

"You're lying."

"I'm not." Lily thought of Molly and Louis briefly. How utterly happy they had always been together. _I'm so sorry, Louis_. "Wake them up, and let them go free. Then I'll tell you what you want to know, and you kill me. Everyone wins."

"Except for you."

"Except for me," Lily agreed. "But I'm willing to do it."

There was a tense pause. Lucy's wand was bent so tightly that Lily thought it might snap. Of course, she had several other ones she could have also used, Lily thought grimly. A nervous sweat had begun to form at the base of her temple when Lucy nodded jerkily, her wand pointed at their cousins.

"_Enervate_!"

The room was basked in warm light, and a mild breeze ruffled Lily's hair. She held her breath for a moment, waiting. Roxanne was kneeling beside Rose, her hand hovering protectively around her head.

Hugo was the first to stir. He groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. His hair stuck up all over his head, giving him the appearance of a young child. "S'going on? Where am I?"

Lily's heart ached in her chest. She tried not to look at him, staring hard at the library tables as tears welled up in her eyes. Roxanne laid a steadying hand on his shoulder, whispering something in his ear. Rose began to wake as well, her nose twitching as she brushed the hair from her face sleepily.

"Now." Lucy's expression was impassive as she drew closer, stepping purposefully in between Hugo and Lily. "I've held up my end of the bargain. It's time for you to hold up yours."

Lily hesitated. "The others- I want to watch you let them go-"

"Let's not become greedy," Lucy said calmly. "They'll be allowed to leave soon. But first, the secret."

Lily shot a glance at her cousins. They were rubbing their eyes, but they appeared barely conscious, and they were definitely in no position for a fight. Talc had managed to get to his feet, but Roxanne had a firm grip on his elbow. Lily met her eyes, and the other girl stared back with hard eyes. She didn't have to say anything, because Lily could see it all.

There was nothing any of them could do.

She took a shaky step forward, beckoning for Lucy to come closer. "Alright."

Lily approached her carefully, cautiously, wondering how close she could stand next to her without being flung backward by the protective shield. They were nose to nose now, and Lily could see every shade of grey in her cousin's eyes. She leaned in, letting her lips hover by her ear, waiting just a moment-

And then she exhaled.

Lily let out all the breath she had in her lungs, aiming at the silvery dust on Lucy's neck. The last piece of the puzzle had slid together in her head, and suddenly, it was as if everything made sense. The caster couldn't have used the Imperius curse, on the off-hand chance that a professor might check the last spell they had performed. They would have had to use something else as a means of control, which was why Lucy had been writing to her mum, who had been controlled by Voldemort in her second year, and why Lucy had been researching possessions. It wasn't for Lily, and it wasn't for a friend.

It had been for herself.

Lucy let out a screech, throwing herself backwards and into a table. The silvery powder had disappeared in a cloud of tiny stars, vanishing into thin air as soon as it left Lucy's skin. Roxanne was yelling again, something unintelligible, and Lily could hear Hugo swearing as he struggled to get to his feet. Her own heartbeat was pounding wildly in her ears.

Lucy hit the ground in a crumpled heap.

Against her better judgement, Lily started forward, unable to see her cousin in pain. Roxanne let out a strangled cry and leaped forward, tackling Lily backward again. This, most unfortunately, allowed Talc to move and before any of them could do a thing, he was kneeling by Lucy's side.

"Lucy?" He shook her gently, though Lily noted with relief that he had snatched his wand up from the ground. "Luce, if you can hear me, say something."

There was a tense pause. Nobody moved, whether from sore limbs or anticipation, Lily couldn't say. Roxanne and Hugo were standing on either side of her, their expressions grim as they looked to Lucy. Al was holding Rose up as the girl's knees appeared to buckle.

A sudden gasp cut through the thick silence. Lucy sat up abruptly, her face pale and drawn. Trembling fingers immediately went to her stomach, and she gagged, keeling over. Talc rubbed her back automatically, though his wand was still firmly at his side. He murmured softly to her as she shook, holding her knees as she retched.

"I-" Lucy gasped, looking up with wide eyes, "I can't remember-"

"Possession powder," Lily cut in grimly, her eyes trailing to where the silvery dust had vanished. "I saw it during my trip to Knockturn Alley with Scorpius. Dangerous stuff."

Lucy looked abruptly horrified. "What did I- I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"Nobody you would have normally, no," Rose assured her, speaking for the first time. Her voice was raspy like sandpaper, and she was still leaning heavily on Albus. "You got a few good shots in, though."

Lily quickly exchanged a glance with Roxanne, shaking her head subtly. Of course, Rose didn't know the half of it. Lily had watched as her cousin had taken a man's life without a second thought, and though it hadn't been her exactly, she was certain that Lucy would blame herself wholly.

Tears had begun to gather in Lucy's eyes. "I should have told you!"

"I should have figured it out sooner." Lily tried to smile, but her face felt leaden. "I was a complete idiot. The dark magic I felt all over me must have been the possession powder. I was so certain that it was coming from the locket that I didn't even consider the fact that it could have been coming from _someone _instead."

"Merlin, I just thought that I was going mad at first." A single tear slid down her face. "I tried to fight it. I researched everything, anything I could find. I just - I didn't figure it out until- until it was-"

"Too late," Lily said softly. Her cousin nodded, letting out a small whimper. Talc stroked her hair soothingly, and Lily sighed. "Lucy, I know that this isn't exactly ideal timing, but I need to know everything that you remember. Whoever possessed you was able to attack you while you were alone, which means that you know him or her well. We don't have time for guesswork."

Talc gave her a hard look that she studiously ignored. Lucy took a calming breath, sweeping her bangs from her face. "It started at the quidditch match. I remember someone asking me to show them a charm - a boy, I think. He was wearing a quidditch uniform."

"A Slytherin," Albus said coldly.

"Someone from my team, then." Talc suddenly looked murderous, and it was enough to make Lily flinch back. "Those rotten bastards-"

"Not green and silver." Lucy shook her head. "Gold and red."

There was a beat of silence. Lily glanced quickly to Hugo, whose face had gone slack. "Someone from my team?" he asked hoarsely. Lucy nodded.

Lily quickly ran through the list in her mind. Lucy had said it was a boy, which left five suspects, each as unlikely as the next. She immediately excluded Hugo, who, regardless of the fact that she had just had a member of her family attempt to kill her, she firmly believed was on their side. Which left Castor, the Scavanger twins, and-

_Zeek._

Her mind went into overdrive. Hadn't the previous commentator come down with a nasty case of boils, leaving Derrick McNair to commentate that match? Boils were Zeek's _specialty. _He had used them more than once on the unsuspecting twins, or a pushy Hugo during one of his more intense quidditch practices. And was it not him that suggested they play the game anyways? She recalled his foot tapping an anxious rhythm, his face screwed up in concentration.

Zeek.

Her teammate, Zeek.

"I know who it is," she said firmly, ignoring the other's incredulous expressions. Her eyes locked with Lucy's. "Does Zeek ring any bells?"

Her cousin inhaled sharply, and Lily knew that she had hit the mark dead on. "You have to tell me what his plan is," Lily said immediately, trying to keep her cousin focused. "Come on, Lucy, _think_."

"He said..." Lucy concentrated hard, a rosy red spreading over her cheeks from effort. "He wanted me to take you all to this room. He wanted me to distract you, but if I had to-" Lucy broke off, continuing in a whisper. "I was supposed to kill you if I had to."

Lily's heart was beating a rapid thump-thump rhythm in her chest. "Distract us from what?"

"Not all of you." Lucy's voice was miserable. "Just you, Lily."

"What did he want you to distract me from?" Her cousin looked down, suddenly very interested in the cracks on the library floor. Lily felt a surge of irritation. "From _what_?" she demanded again, her voice becoming shrill. "Tell me, Lucy! _Now_."

"He's going to kill Scorpius," Lucy confessed in a rush, her eyes pleading and apologetic. "The locket that Scorpius wears - it has special properties, and Zeek wants it. I- he made me tell him about your trip to Knockturn Alley, and he found the locket there after you had left. I'm so sorry, Lily, I never wanted-"

"What the hell does he want with Scorpius, then?" Lily hissed, ignoring the bracing hand Hugo had put on her arm. "He already has the damn thing!"

Lucy shook her head miserably. "He can't use it. Not until Scorpius is dead and the ownership is transferred."

"Like the Elder Wand." Rose's face was an ashy pale when she spoke. "In the story Grandma Molly used to read to us when we were little."

Lucy grimaced. "Exactly. Zeek wants Scorpius dead."

The world had begun to turn into odd shapes, the colors mixing together in an abstract manner. She suddenly felt dizzy, and when she turned towards Hugo, her voice sounded funny in her ears. "Let me go."

"No," he said immediately.

"Hugo, let me _go_." With a sudden strength Lily hadn't realized she possessed, she yanked her arm roughly out of his grasp, diving for her wand. Roxanne swore and fumbled for it as well, but not before Lily had scooped it up, cradling it safely in her arms.

Albus released Rose without delay, barreling forward to grab Lily around the waist. She elbowed him hard in the shoulder, feinting to the side with a chaser's reflexes to avoid his reaching hands. Turning a deaf ear to her other cousin's protests, she threw open the door, running at breakneck speed towards the screams beyond.

o.O.o

Lily was hardly aware of what was happening around her. Her limbs acted on reflex, dodging and blocking and punching and jinxing automatically, never slowing and never stopping. She pushed through crowds of people, unable to tell who was who in the confusion. She saw that many adult wizards had joined the mob now, and occasionally she caught a glimpse of bright red Weasley hair.

Her family.

"Lily!" She could hear Molly's voice rising over the din. Her cousin sounded frantic, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Lily, wait! I know that I saw you; come on, Lils, your parents want you out of here!"

Lily hesitated for the first time, although she was less concerned for her own safety than she was for her cousin's. Molly was a fighter, and her defensive curses were legendary, but she drew the line at inflicting pain on another human being. And here, Lily knew that one couldn't afford such luxuries.

"Hold on, Mols." She threw aside a man in a black hood with a well-placed curse, ducking under a pile of shrapnel. "I'm coming!"

Molly was ghostly pale, her face streaked with dirt and grime. As the crowd parted, Lily could see that Molly had chosen a small alcove to hide in, and she was wearing a ghastly vest that stood out like an orange beacon in the crowd. Despite herself, Lily actually laughed.

"What is _that_?"

Molly's lips twitched. "I'm officially escorting the injured away via side-along apparation. This is so that they can recognize me."

"Well, they certainly wouldn't miss you." Lily shuffled her feet impatiently, throwing a glance over her shoulder. "Listen, Mols, I can't come with you. There's something that I need to do-"

"I thought you might say that," Molly sighed. "Alright. I'll make you a deal; I'll come with you and as soon as you resolve whatever stupid idea you have, and then I escort you back to the Burrow. Deal?"

Lily pursed her lips. "What about the others? I can't just leave them."

"Louis will get them." Despite the battle raging around them, the air between them seemed suddenly still. Molly's eyes widened as she realized what she had said. "Oh, shit. I don't mean to rub it in your face, Lily-"

"It's fine," Lily said truthfully, surprising herself. "I'm over it. You two make a cute couple and should have lots of witches and wizards that you can make study for hours. Can we go now?"

Molly's face split into a grin. "Let's go."

The two girls tore through the crowd, Lily leading the way and Molly bringing up the rear. Her vest shortly proved to be an unfortunate handicap, and Lily became in charge of offensive curses while Molly cast rapid shield charms. Lily had told her briefly what they were looking for, so they both scanned each pair of fighters for tell-tale blonde hair.

Lily was about to give up hope when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She stopped abruptly, causing Molly to run straight into her. She hardly even noticed.

"_There_," she hissed, ducking behind a fallen statue. Molly immediately dropped to the ground as well, mirroring her position. Cautiously, Lily peeked over their make-shift shelter.

Draco Malfoy was circling his son, their eyes locked. Scorpius's posture was stiff and straight, though Lily could tell that his hands were shaking. The two men regarded one another coolly, evidently deciding whether it would be better to strike or to wait until the other did.

Suddenly, Scorpius spoke. "Why?"

"You're going to have to be more eloquent than that, boy," Draco sneered, seemingly entirely unconcerned by the current situation. Scorpius set his jaw.

"Why did you never tell me?" he demanded. "Why did you never even _mention_ the fact that you had fought on the wrong side of a war? Don't you think that's something I might have needed to know at some point?"

"Careful." Draco smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You're starting to sound an awful lot like a Gryffindor."

"Good _Merlin_," Scorpius burst out, his eyes blazing. "No wonder Mother can't stand to be in the same room with you! All you care about is yourself and your bloody pureblood pride!"

A curse was fired, shattering the torch about a foot to the left of Scorpius' head. Lily would have cried out, but Molly clapped a hand over her mouth. Her cousin's eyes were large, and she spoke in a barely audible tone.

"Look to your left."

Fear crawling into her throat, Lily did so. There, concealed amongst the shadows, was Zeek. She recognized him immediately, and really, how could she not? They had spent years training together, laughing and teasing Hugo about his lack of coordination as a chaser. Zeek had been the one to tell her to eat before a quidditch game, and the one to pick her back up when they didn't win one.

And here he was, planning to kill them all.

Lily surprised herself by not feeling angry. Instead, a hollow feeling made her chest ache, as if she had lost something. And perhaps she had.

Her focus snapped back to Scorpius and her father as another beam of light ricocheted off the wall, smashing a suit of armor. The jets of color were flying faster now as the tempo of their steps increased, each man dancing away from near death. Lily bit her lip.

"_Lily_," Molly urged again in a whisper. "Your left!"

Zeek had raised his arm, and was pointing his wand squarely at the back of Scorpius's head. Without another coherent thought, Lily flung herself at him, knocking them both into a patch of light. Zeek, surprised as he was, did not have the foresight to stop her, but as soon as they had landed, his chaser reflexes kicked in.

They both rolled on top of one another, fighting for the upper hand. Distantly, Lily heard Molly scream. Scorpius's eyes had flicked over to them, and he was shouting something at Molly, something that sounded suspiciously like, "Get her out of here!"

Zeek's eyes were dark as he made a fumble for his wand, which Lily quickly knocked out of his hand. It went flying across the room, landing in a pile of rubble at the base of a staircase. He hissed out a long breath, his hands moving roughly towards her neck. She kneed him hard in the chest, trying to flip him over so that she was on top of him, when suddenly-

_Crack_.

White hot pain raced down her jawline as his fist collided with her face, making her buck backwards in shock. Tiny stars burst in front of her, making it difficult to see. She could hardly make out Zeek's malicious grin as he flipped her over, pinning down her arms with his hands. His breath was hot in her ear.

"Pity we didn't have more time, Potter. I think that you would have been a lot more fun than our other chaser."

She shivered, though it wasn't from pleasure. "You're a bastard."

"I know," he acknowledged. "But I'm also a winner. Good-bye, Lily."

She felt his elbow begin to press on her wind pipe and resisted the urge to scream, deciding instead to preserve her oxygen supply. Her vision was still a little fuzzy, and it definitely wasn't improving now. Desperately, Lily kicked out blindly, hearing a sweet sound of satisfaction as her foot connected with flesh.

Zeek let out a yelp, thrown to the side momentarily. Lily drew a deep breath as cool air rushed back into her lungs. She forced her body to crouch, slipping slightly as her feet didn't comply. Zeek was kneeling a few feet away, his breathing shallow. She noticed that he now clutched the locket in his hand, cradling it as if it were a child.

"You see, Potter," he said, addressing her though his eyes never left the locket, "I can't wield the full power of the locket without the death of your truly beloved Slytherin. But that doesn't mean that I can't kill you with it."

His wrist jerked upwards, flipping it open so that for the first time, Lily saw the inside. It was lined with tiny silver darts, each as lethally sharp as the next. She swallowed, her hands scrambling for her wand-

"_Volare Telis_!"

The darts were airborne, speeding towards her. Lily closed her eyes, heard Scorpius scream in frustration, waited for the missiles to meet their mark-

But they never did.

A tiny cry of pain made her eyes fly open. Molly was curled up into a fetal position on the ground in front of her, her hands fluttering weakly around her stomach. The darts had embedded themselves just below her ribcage, and when Molly looked at her fingers, Lily could see that they were soaked in blood. Molly looked up at her, eyes wide and fearful.

"Lily," she whispered. "I don't - I didn't want-"

Lily rose to her feet slowly, taking each step towards Zeek deliberately. The boy, now out of tricks and lethal weapons, was cowering on his knees. He watched her progress with fearful eyes.

"Now, Lily-"

"_Avada Kedavra_," she said roughly.

His body stiffened. Lily watched with hard eyes as the green light hit him squarely in the chest, making his limbs go still. His eyes were glassy and unseeing as he fell backwards, his head striking the tile floor. Somewhere behind her, she could hear Draco Malfoy laughing, but it seemed very far away and unreal.

_I just killed somebody_, Lily thought distantly. _I just stopped a human heart. Not in self defense, or because it needed to be done. _

_ I did it because I wanted to._

o.O.o

A/N: Read and review please; I would love to know what you think will happen, as this is such a crucial turning point. Only about three chapters plus an epilogue to go!


	32. End of the End

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling

_Author's Note_: Officially one chapter and an epilogue after this! Please enjoy :)

o.O.o

Lily cradled Molly's head in her lap, trying not to let her hands shake. Her cousin's hair stuck in clumps to her sweaty forehead, and her breath was coming in shuddering gasps. Lily suppressed a sob.

"What do I do?" she asked desperately, her hands fluttering around Molly's stomach. "Should I pull out the darts?"

"No point." Molly closed her eyes, and her jaw was set in a tight line. "I'll just - bleed faster."

"What about a healing charm?" Lily demanded. "I could try to sew up some of the holes around them, until we can get you to a healer."

"They're- too far in," Molly gasped, her eyes flying open with a soft cry of pain. "Already - working their way. Into my organs."

"There must be something!" Lily shouted, her voice cracking. "_Please_, Molly! Tell me how to help you."

"Just- stay with me." Molly smiled weakly, reaching a trembling hand to clasp weakly onto Lily's own. "Don't leave me. Not- until it's done."

"Nothing is going to be done!" Lily protested, her voice shrill. "You're going to be alright, Molly, I promise."

"Hush." Molly squeezed her hand. "Don't - make promises. You can't keep."

Lily felt her cousin's hand begin to twitch spastically beneath her own, and she held it tight, gathering her older cousin's broken form into her arms. Molly let out a sigh, letting her body relax. Lily felt something wet on her cheeks and realized belatedly that she was crying.

"Are you scared?" she asked softly. "To die?"

Molly was quiet for a moment. "No."

"You can tell me, you know," Lily told her, wishing her voice was steadier. "I'll listen to anything you want to say."

Molly let out a breath. "Only scared - of leaving all of you." Her voice was suddenly wistful. "Wanted - to see your wedding. Lucy's kids."

"You still _can_," Lily promised. "I'll make sure of it. Somehow."

"Thank-you." Molly hissed out a long breath, and when she spoke again, her words were strained. "Can you- tell Louis-"

"I'll tell him everything," Lily assured her. "I'll watch out for him everyday; he can live with me if he wants! I swear to you, Molly, I'll make sure he's happy."

"Tell him- to find someone," Molly instructed, her voice pained. "Tell him- that I want him to be happy. Can you do that?"

"Of course," Lily sniffled, wiping hastily at her eyes. She tried to summon her courage before continuing. "I'll make sure he finds someone just as perfect as you, Molly."

"Good," she said, letting out a relieved breath. Lily methodically stroked her hair as she shook, and Molly's eyes fell closed again. "I'm- ready, now. Ready to go home. Ready to- see Uncle Fred."

"He'll be so excited," Lily agreed, giving her cousin a watery smile. Even though Molly couldn't see it, Lily prayed she could hear it in her voice. "By the time I join you, you'll already have learned all the best pranks."

"Yeah." Molly's voice was soft. "The best- the most-"

Her cousin fell silent. A sudden sensation of panic filled her, and Lily sat upright, gripping her cousin's shoulders tightly. "Molly?"

Her shoulder jerked. Then her elbow. Sudden convulsions ran through her body, making her limbs twitch spastically in Lily's arms. She bit down hard on her lip, stifling a cry. Her arms wrapped tighter around her cousin's frail body, holding her close until the shaking stopped.

"Molly?" she repeated. No response. "Molly, thank-you. You were-" A sob caught in her throat. "-the best cousin anyone could have asked for. You were there all the way."

"Wouldn't-" Molly whispered, her voice barely audible. "Wouldn't have changed - a thing."

Lily was really crying now, and once she had started, she found she couldn't stop. She clung to Molly's body like a victim to a lifeboat. Her cousin, who had been closer to her than a sister. Her cousin, who had taught her everything there was to know about Hogwarts. Her cousin, who had written to her every day in her first year, just in case she was scared.

Her cousin, Molly.

"I love you." Her voice was thick, and it sounded like a stranger's words. She kissed the top of Molly's forehead, stroking the hair away from the base of her temple. "Always have, always will." Molly sighed.

"Love- you too," she mumbled.

There was a few seconds that were the worst of Lily's life. She felt her cousin's grip go slack in her hand, and her head lolled back. Her eyes were closed, but Lily knew that if the eyelids opened, they would be distant and unseeing. For a moment, she sat there, stunned into disbelief.

And then she screamed.

Lily screamed until her throat felt raw, and every ounce of pain had begun to leave her. She screamed for what she had lost, for what she had made others lose, and she screamed for a girl who hadn't deserved to die. Her hands went to her neck, and she began to claw at it, wondering if maybe she could tear herself apart before the _hurt_ that she was feeling did it for her.

She felt warm hands on her back. "Lily, don't."

Her fingers stopped, and she hesitated, her hands hovering around her neck. The warm, rough hands clasped firmly around her wrists, tugging them away from her face. A boy's face appeared in her line of vision, his blue eyes wide and concerned.

"Lily," Scorpius continued, "there's nothing more you can do. Come on. You need to stand up."

"No! Leave me here," she begged. The hands continued to tug her upwards, but she resisted, pushing him roughly off. "_No_! You don't understand! I said that I wouldn't - I promised Molly that I wouldn't leave her alone! _No!_" she shrieked, kicking out wildly as strong arms scooped her up, pulling her away from the form on the floor. "Get off of me! Molly! _Molly!_"

"Take her home," Scorpius instructed roughly, and she distantly felt him pass her into another set of arms. "Calm her down, and wait for the rest of us. Don't let her out of your sight."

"I won't," a voice promised, and she recognized Hugo speaking. "You sure you can deal with your father?"

"Yeah." Scorpius's voice was hard. "I have him tied up pretty well. I'm just going to stay out of the action until the aurors can come down and move him to Azkaban."

She could feel Hugo's chin on the top of her head as he nodded. "See you later then, mate. Good luck."

"You too."

Lily was distantly aware of a crucial moment as the two boys willingly shook hands, but at the moment she was too adrift to notice. Her head felt fuzzy and uncertain, and her limbs wouldn't seem to cooperate. Just as Hugo turned to carry her from the hall, a sharp sense of _something _cut through her.

"Wait!"

Perhaps she sounded more reasonable, or maybe it was just that Hugo was surprised to hear her voice. Whatever the reason, he complied to her wishes, halting their progress. Lily untwined herself from her cousin's arms, moving carefully over to Zeek's body.

Hugo, who obviously hadn't seen that part of the equation yet, blanked considerably. "Who-"

"Me," Lily said grimly. She stooped, snatching up the locket that the boy had clutched in his hands. Ignoring Hugo's questioning look, she slipped into her pocket, nodding at him.

"Okay. We can go now."

o.O.o

In some ways, she was grateful that it was Hugo who had come with her.

Her cousin had been her best friend for long enough that he didn't even have to ask if she needed anything. Instead, he set her down firmly on the sofa, draping two blankets snugly around her. He then proceeded to bustle around in the kitchen, producing steaming mugs of tea with scones. He shoved one mutely into her hands.

"Eat."

Lily did so, more to please him than anything else. The scone tasted like cardboard in her mouth, and if she wasn't paying attention, she would choke on the tea. She drank slowly, certain that as soon as she was done, Hugo would insist she had a bath, and then proceed to stand outside on the other side of the curtain to make sure that she didn't drown herself.

"We should have stayed," she said finally. "They're out there risking their lives, and we're sitting here drinking tea."

"Lily, you just killed somebody," Hugo stated bluntly. "I think we've done our share."

She flinched, though it was more the latter statement that bothered her. Hugo seemed to realize this, and let out a groan of frustration.

"That's not what I meant-"

"I know," she interrupted. "I just hate thinking that there is shares. Lives that everyone has to end."

"He would have killed you otherwise," Hugo said simply. "That's all there is to it. It was self defense in the end; whatever the situation, if he had been allowed half a second, it would be you on the ground."

"Yeah." Lily stared into her tea mug. A sudden feeling of cold had overcome her, despite the two blankets wrapped around her body. She hesitated, wondering how to phrase what she so desperately wanted to ask. "Hugo... how many?"

His eyes darkened, and she could see that he understood. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Twenty-eight," he said, and she winced. "Or, it was when I left."

"Anyone we know?" she asked, praying that her voice was steady enough that he would believe that she wasn't quite falling apart anymore. Hugo's shoulders tensed.

"A few."

"Who?" she requested. Hugo looked for a moment as if he was going to fight her, and then he sighed. His eyes had a heavy look.

"Lorcan Scavenger," he said dejectedly. "Molly, Aunt Angelina-"

"Roxanne." Lily buried her face in her hands. "That's her mum. Merlin."

Hugo continued as if he hadn't heard her, and Lily wondered if he was afraid of stopping in case he couldn't start again. "And-" He broke off, his voice cracking. "And Annie, too."

"Annie?" Lily echoed. "But- you said that she left."

"She came back." Hugo's gaze was locked on the low embers burning in the grate, and the muscles in his arms were tense. His eyes searched the dying flames as if they held the secret to the universe. "I didn't even see her sneak back in; I just saw her body, shoved up against the wall. There were scratches all over it and her clothes were torn, as if- as if-"

His voice cracked, and he laid his head in his hands. Lily rubbed his back automatically, trying to soothe some of the tension. Her mind was a million miles away, back to the hot breath on her ears and Zeek's malicious smile. What had he said again? _You would have been a lot more fun than our other chaser._

"It was Zeek," she growled. "He confessed to it, right before I- well, before he died."

Hugo looked up. Lily felt her heart reach out to him; his eyes were full of pain and anguish and words left unsaid. He drew a deep breath. "I kissed her, you know. Right after our last quidditch match we played together."

"She really liked you," Lily admitted. "I could tell."

"_Could_." Hugo let out a bark of bitter laughter, making her jump. "I almost corrected you there; _can_, I wanted to say. You _can _tell."

There was a moment of silence. "Do you think Scorpius will still be a can and not a could?"

"Yes," Hugo said, not missing a beat. "Malfoy is a damned good fighter, and he's pissed off enough to kill every person in a mask at that castle. He'll make it out alright."

Lily felt a knot of tension unwind in the pit of her stomach. "Thank-you."

"It's the truth."

They both sat there, letting themselves bask in the warm glow of the fire. Lily let her head fall on to her cousin's shoulder, and he slumped against her, his body heavy and limp. Lily wasn't certain how long they sat there; it could have been a minute, or it could have been hours.

They only sat up when they heard the scream.

o.O.o

Lily barely spared a glance at Hugo before jumping up from the sofa, running as fast as her legs would carry her towards the garden. Hugo wasn't far behind, his face grim and wand in hand. Lily was bizarrely reminded of their quidditch practices, where the two of them would compete neck and neck for first place in the warm up run. Only this time, they were competing against time.

Two shadowy figures had taken up residence in the middle of the garden, and even in the moonlight, Lily could see the glint of blood reflecting off of both. The girl that had screamed was kneeling over the other, who looked to be unconscious. Lily was sprinting so fast now that she could feel the burn in her calves, and she relished the feeling.

For the first time in hours, Lily felt alive again.

"Hurry!" the voice called, and Lily felt a flicker of recognition, though it was hard to make out the face of the girl. "Please, Lily, hurry! He's dying."

_Lucy_. Hugo had overtaken her now, and reached the unconscious figure first, his wand already out. Lily was slower by a few seconds, though when she arrived, she almost wished that she had given Hugo more time to clean up the blood first.

Talc's face was mutilated beyond repair. Scratches and gashes crisscrossed around his eyes, making it difficult to tell whether he had any at all. His nose was twisted oddly, and one of his eyebrows had been singed off. Chunks of his hair had fallen out, and his breathing was funny and short. Lily felt bile rise in her throat.

"What happened?"

Lucy looked up at her with a dazed expression. "I- I had lost my wand, and Talc's was snapped in half. It was dark, and we were running - I can't remember where. A couple of Death Eater's were hell bent on killing us, and neither of us could see what part of the castle we were in, and we- we hit a dead end." Her voice cracked, and when she continued, there were tears in her eyes. "They were closing in. I thought we were dead for sure, and then Talc- he just kicked part of the wall supports. The whole roof came crumbling down. The Death Eater's were killed, and I suppose we almost were too, but Talc threw himself on top of me and-"

She shook her head, unable to say anything else. Lily remembered distantly that she and Hugo had both flooed back and arrived in the living room, which meant that Lucy must have been desperate enough to try apparation. Lily squeezed her shoulder.

"We'll fix him."

"Injuries all down the left side of the body," Hugo reported, his voice grim. "And he has some especially bad ones on his stomach. Here, take a look, Lucy. You'll be better at healing these ones."

Lucy shook her head vehemently. "I can't. Every time I look at him, I almost pass out. I'm afraid that I'll botch it by fainting."

If Hugo was phased, he didn't show it. "Lily, then."

Lily dropped to her knees, her hands briskly moving to push aside his clothes. It was only when her brain realized what her eyes were seeing that her hands began to tremble.

_Molly's injuries._

The exact same place, only slightly less severe. He had lost marginally less blood than her cousin, and he had obviously been injured for a shorter amount of time. Nevertheless, Lily felt light-headed and dizzy. She withdrew her hands abruptly, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

"Lily?" Hugo demanded. "Are you going to try something, or not?"

And Talc was suddenly Molly, her breathing shallow and pained. _No point, Lily. I'll just bleed faster._

Hugo's voice was impatient. "Should we apparate him to St. Mungo's, or will it disturb his injuries? Lily?"

_They're too far in, _Molly was saying now. _Already working their way into my organs._

"Lily!" Hugo snapped.

She shook herself out of it. The boy laying on the ground wasn't her cousin, and he certainly wasn't going to die if she could help it. Lily nodded briskly, moving his clothes aside again.

"Rose taught me how to close these," she explained, tapping them with her wand. "I can't ward off infection or replace any blood that he's lost, but if he's strong enough, he should wake up on his own."

Lucy let out something like a sob. "And if he's not?"

"We'll deal with that if it comes."

Lily tapped the wounds methodically, murmuring softly as she did so. The wounds began to close, turning a scabby red and then pink. She payed special attention to the ones over his organs, reinforcing and doubling the magic. She closed every one until she could physically feel the magic leaving her, and exhausted, she pulled back.

"That should do it."

"Should?" Lucy repeated.

"It will do it," Lily insisted more firmly. "If anything will work, that was it."

They waited for a few moments, letting the night breeze ruffle their hair. It was oddly serene: a quiet moment in the heat of a battle. Lucy was leaning over Talc, murmuring words to him that Lily was certain were only for him to hear. Hugo nudged Lily gently with his shoulder.

"He's not Molly," he told her softly. "It won't be the same."

"I know." Lily swallowed. "I just don't want to lose anyone else. And I can't let Lucy afford to lose anyone else, either."

The two lapsed into silence once again, watching Talc with calculating expressions. Lily found that her hands couldn't stop shaking, hadn't been able to stop since she had seen Talc's alarmingly similar injuries. She wondered briefly if it was truly a coincidence or if she had done something bad enough for fate to be this cruel.

"I _can't_," Lucy sobbed, abruptly breaking the silence. "I can't _do _this!"

Alarmed, Lily took a step forward. "Lucy, calm down."

"Do you know what it's like, Lily?" Lucy wept, her eyes red and hollow. "To find out that you've killed someone? To realize that your sister is dead?" Her voice was louder now. "Do you know what it's like to watch someone you care about throw his own life away to save yours? No, you don't!"

"Luce-"

"_No!_" Lucy's hair was in a disarray, and in that moment, with her wild eyes, she looked truly frightening. "_Enervate!_"

A burst of white light flew from the end of her wand, slamming Talc hard in the chest. His body jerked, rocked by the impact of the spell. Lily stumbled backwards, tripping as the spell's power hit her, too. Hugo managed to remain where he was, though Lily could tell that the force of it had surprised him as well.

More surprising was that Lucy had enough energy for a second round. "_Enervate!"_

If anything, the second spell was much stronger than the first, and Lily actually fell down this time. Hugo lost his footing as well, tumbling to the ground. Lucy's voice was shrill in the inky darkness, and Lily wondered how Lucy could see much of anything through her tears.

"I said, _enervate!"_

This time, Lily could not only feel the physical shock of the spell, but the emotional one as well. Her bones suddenly felt tired, aching, as if she had aged fifty years in mere seconds. Her body was grinding itself to dust, and good merlin, it _hurt_. Lucy, too, was in obvious pain, but she raised herself for a fourth spell, her hands shaking. "_Ener-_"

"Stop!" Lily threw herself at her cousin, tackling her to the ground. "Lucy, you're going to kill yourself trying!"

"Then _let_ me!" Lucy shrieked. "I don't care anymore! Just let me _try_!"

"No!" Lily pulled back, sitting on her cousin so that her arms were pinned tightly to her sides. "Do you think you're the only one who is allowed a say in this, Lucy? _I_ care about you, too! And I say, _no_, you are not allowed to kill yourself!"

"Lilsy-" Hugo began.

"No!" she yelled. "I'm sick of this! Lucy's being a prat! She has _no _idea how much her life is worth, none at _all_-"

"Lily!" Hugo hollered. His face was red. "Look at Talc!"

Lily rolled off of Lucy immediately, shifting into a kneeling position. Talc groaned, his hands moving to cover his face with his hands. "What happened?" he asked blearily. 'Where am I?"

Color rushed back into Lucy's face. She slumped back against the grass, an expression of pure relief crossing her face. "You're awake."

"Lucy?" Talc took his hands slowly away from his eyes, staring fixedly at the sky. Lily noticed that his fingers were trembling slightly. "Is that you?"

Her cousin leaned forward again so that she was at his side. The moonlight caught the moisture in her eyes and made them glow. "Can't you see me?" She sounded worried as she took his hand, rubbing circles onto his palm. "I'm right here."

"No." The word was faint, almost scared to be said. Lucy's eyes widened as if she had been slapped, but she never moved her hand. Lily swallowed reflexively.

"Talc, it's Lily," she said. Her voice came out rough and scratchy. "Hugo and I are here as well, alright? You're going to be fine."

"What do you mean, he's going to be fine?" Lucy sounded scared now, terrified beyond belief. Their interlocked fingers were shaking, but from whom, Lily couldn't tell. "He's fine now! Talc, tell her you're okay."

"Lucy-" His voice was tight. Lucy shook her head, squeezing his hand like a lifeline.

"Don't say it. Please don't say it." Her whole body was trembling like a tree in violent winds, and the words were barely a whisper. Talc swallowed.

"Lucy." His voice cracked in the middle, and he cleared his throat. "I didn't- never got the chance to say-"

"Don't," she said sharply. And in that moment, Lily could see the internal war raging inside of her, begging her to run. She was being strong for him, as he was for her. He offered her a tiny smile.

"Lucy." He squeezed her hand two, three times. "I can't see you. I think that I'm blind."

o.O.o

A/N: Please leave me a review! But, seriously. I'm really hoping for some. And I'm grateful to those incredible people who do just that, every update. You all are fantastic!


	33. After

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; it all belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling

_A/N: _As this is the last official chapter (excluding the epilogue), I would just like to thank every single person out there who is still reading right now. You have all made this story what it is, and I loved reading all of your feedback and encourgament. Please continue to be amazing!

o.O.o

Lily was hardly aware of what was happening for the next few hours.

Once they had affirmed that Talc was somewhat stable, Lucy flooed him to St. Mungo's, guiding him through the house with a shaky hand. Hugo had offered to come with, but from the snippets of conversation that Lily had caught, Lucy had rather shakily told him to keep an eye on Lily.

Dandy.

Lily was starting on her fourth mug of tea when people began to apparate in to the Burrow at an alarming rate, often shouting in loud, confused voices. Her parents arrived close to two in the morning, shortly after Hermione and Ron. They wore haggard, haunted expressions, as if their nightmares had just played out before their eyes. Lily was distantly aware of her name being called, but she never looked up from the dredges of her tea.

"Hugo!" There was a rush of bushy brown hair, and when Lily looked up, her best friend was pinned to his seat. "Oh, thank Merlin! You're alright!" Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she flung herself at her son once again, latching on to Hugo's arm. Her eyes were wild and frantic. "I thought that maybe- well, I thought-"

"I'm alright, mum." Hugo showed no trace of teenage embarrassment as he ruffled his mother's hair, though his skill at comforting women clearly had not improved. He patted her awkwardly on the back. "Lily and I left before the real fighting even began, really."

"But it's over now," Hermione reassured him, although Lily could tell that Hugo wasn't the only one she was trying to convince. "We're all fine."

"What happened?"

It took Lily a moment to realize that she was the one to speak. Aunt Hermione looked up, startled, as if she had forgotten Lily was there. Her shoulders stiffened.

"We won."

And that was all there was to be said.

The hustle of the Burrow quickly died down, replaced by a moody, solemn atmosphere. Uncle George was staring blankly at the wallpaper, his hand wrapped mutely around his daughter's shoulders. Roxanne wasn't crying, but her eyes hadn't moved from what looked like a clock with faces on it in her hands. Upon closer inspection, Lily realized that the girl was staring at her mother's face, which was turned towards mortal peril.

Lily turned away quickly, searching the rest of the room instead. Grandma Molly was hovering about, insisting upon cocoa and hot tea. James looked on the verge of doing her bodily harm when she asked Fred if he would like some, but Dominique laid a gentle hand on his shoulders, and James reluctantly sunk back again. Albus and Porella were conversing quietly in the corner, both sporting long gashes that extended from their shoulders downwards.

"Scorpius isn't here."

Lily looked up to find Rose watching her anxiously, taking the seat across from her at the scrubbed wooden table. Lily felt her heart falter.

"I know."

"Do you think he's alright?" Rose drew a breath. "I mean, you don't think that he's-"

"Dead?" Lily interrupted. Her voice sounded hollow even to her own ears, and Rose flinched visibly. "No, I don't." _I can't_, she wanted to say, but the words wouldn't leave her lips. Rose hesitated.

"Lily, he wanted me to tell you that-"

She was interrupted by a loud _pop_, accompanied by violent shouting. There was the sudden, alarming sound of wood breaking with a _bang _as her uncle Percy was thrown forcefully into the table, his face an expression of comical surprise. Louis stood over him, his hands clenched into fists.

"This is all your fault!" he growled, starting towards the man again. "You lying, cowardly bastard! I swear to Merlin, I will break your arms-"

James vacated his seat beside Fred and took an immediate step towards his cousin. "Louis-"

"No!" Louis snapped. "You don't _understand_, James! He's the reason she's dead!"

James paled. "Who's dead?"

"Molly!" Louis screamed. "Molly is dead!"

There was an audible silence. Lily realized belatedly that no one in this room had known that fact aside from Hugo and herself, and the former certainly hadn't mentioned it. As for Lily, it simply hadn't occurred to her to tell people. She felt like the world should already know, somehow.

To his credit, James recovered quickly, and he was by Louis' side in a second. "Lou, whatever happened to her, it wasn't anyone's doing in this room," he said, his voice unusually grave. He tugged on his forearm. "Come on, let's take a walk-"

"Let go of me." Louis's voice was low and dangerous. "Now."

James paled, and released his arm instantly. Louis took another deliberate step forward, circling his uncle like a cat watching a mouse. He paused, crouching down among the rubble of the table until he was at Percy's level. "Say it. Say that you killed her."

Percy swallowed. "I never-"

"Say it!" Louis snarled, grabbing his uncle by the shirt collar and lifting him roughly three feet off of the ground. Lily had never realized how tall her cousin was until this moment, when Percy's feet swung helplessly in the air.

"Bill," Percy pleaded, shooting his eldest brother an entreating glance over Louis's shoulder. "Please. Control your son."

But Bill stood solemn, his arm wrapped around Fleur's shoulders. The set of his shoulders was weary, and Lily imagined that he knew any attempt at help would be futile. Louis set Percy back on the ground, though his hand still gripped his shirt collar.

"She could have _lived_," he hissed. "She could have been here now if you'd just taken a moment to fucking tell her the truth!"

"I don't-"

"Molly was a fighter!" Louis yelled, his face blotchy and red. "You _knew_ that she would want to fight! You _knew_, and you never helped her prepare! She could have had _months_ to learn defensive spells!"

"I never-"

"_Shut-up_!" Louis roared. "Just- just-"

He teetered for a moment, putting a steadying hand on the wall. Then he folded at the waist, his entire body crumpling back against the wall as well. His hands curled in towards his middle protectively, as if to hold himself together. Silent tears streamed down his face. There was a moment of silence. Then, Percy stepped forward, wrapping his arms around the boy.

There was a brief pause. Her grandmother held a chipped mug in her hand, staring at the unfolding scene with tears of her own. Her grandfather rested a hand on her shoulder, and his wand clattered to the floor, as if he couldn't bear to hold on to it any longer. Roxanne glanced up from the clock, though she didn't look long. Fred hardly moved.

Eventually, it was Harry Potter that cleared his throat. "In light of the recent tragedy, I'd like to address a few things," he said quietly. "Firstly, the bravery of everyone who fought was commendable. Every person who fell in battle tonight was a hero, someone to be remembered-"

"Oh, will you _shut-up_?"

Again, Lily was hardly aware she was speaking until she had risen from her chair. The shell-shocked expression on her father's face would have been funny if not for the circumstances, and as it was, it only made Lily further enraged.

"That was entirely uncalled for, Lily." Her father looked appalled. "Those people who died today deserve our respect, and right now, all you're doing them is disservice-"

"_I'm _doing them a disservice?" Lily laughed, but there was no warmth in it. "You're the one going on about what _heroes _they all were, when in fact, all they were was lambs for the slaughter! Louis is right! You could have had months to prepare us, to train us, and all you did was sit back and twiddle your thumbs-"

"We spent weeks trying to delay their advances!" Her father was furious now, his voice echoing around the silent kitchen. "You have _no idea_ what we did to try and stop them-"

"Evidently, not enough." A sudden wave of calm washed over her. When she spoke, her voice was chilly. "This is all your fault, and you just don't want to admit it to yourself. The famous Harry Potter can hardly afford to own up to the fact that _all_ of the carnage today is on _his _hands-"

Ginny took an intimidating step forward. "Don't talk to your father like that!"

"And _you." _Lily turned her accusatory gaze on her mother. "You're just as bad! Following along with your husband's wishes, even though you knew they were wrong. Letting Lucy write to you for months - _months!_ - about _possession_ for Merlin's sake, and never bothering to ask her why! Were you scared that she might be able to piece things together? Is that what this is?"

Ginny's shoulders slumped. "I never meant-"

"_Of course_ you never meant it!" Lily yelled, her voice rising. "None of you ever meant it! But that doesn't make Molly, or Aunt Angelina, or _any_ of them not-dead, does it? It's all gone to shite, and there's _nothing _any of you can do about it!"

Harry's voice was like a whip cracking in the solemn quiet. "Lily Potter, close your mouth! You are a _child_. A useless, unstable child, who has done nothing but cause trouble! And you're accusing me of being at fault for their deaths? Why don't you take a look at _yourself_?"

There was an audible silence, thick and pungent. Her father was breathing heavily, two bright red spots on his cheeks. Her mother had her hand over her mouth. There was a loud scraping of wood as Porella pulled back her chair, her eyes fixed on Lily's father.

"That was entirely out of order. Lily has done nothing wrong, and I suggest you apologize." Her gaze never wavered. "Immediately."

If it had been anyone but the Boy Who Lived, Lily would have guaranteed that they would have been significally cowed. As it was, Harry could have been breathing fire. "And who the bloody hell are y_ou_?"

"Someone who has been pushed around by her own parents enough to know exactly how it feels." Porella's eyes never moved from Harry's, but Lily could have sworn that she gave Lily a half-smile. "And I'm also a friend of Lily's. Again, I suggest you say that you're sorry to your daughter before someone makes you do it."

"I-" For once, Harry Potter looked like he was at a loss for words. "But it's entirely her fault! If she knew so much about it, she should have _done _something! And now she's standing here, shouting at me after fleeing the battle with little to show for it-"

"Little to show for it?" Lily echoed incredulously. "_Little to show for it?" _She felt furious tears gather in her eyes._ "_I held her while she _died_! I held Molly in my arms, and waited for her to die, trying to be brave - trying to be-" She shook her head wordlessly. "She didn't have to _die_. Nobody did."

And with that, she turned on her heel and fled towards the garden.

o.O.o

The night air was warmer than she had expected, although it hardly made a difference. Lily couldn't feel much of anything anymore; the thorns that cut into her feet were merely bothersome, and the twigs in her hair were irritating at most. When she had reached their make-shift quidditch pitch, she flung herself down without another word, staring up at the stars. Her breath made lazy circles in the air.

"You're an idiot."

"Hullo, Rose," Lily said dully. She didn't bother to turn her head, instead simply patting the grass beside her. "Come to laugh at me? Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Not laugh." Rose lay down beside her, close enough that their shoulders touched. "Actually, I'm not sure what I'm doing out here."

"That makes two of us."

There was a tick of silence. Rose tried again. "That was some fit you pitched in there. Your mum and dad are in hysterics."

"Let them be, then." Lily turned her head, searching her cousin's dark eyes. "Are you going to tell me that I was wrong for saying what I did?"

"You're dad's an even bigger idiot than you are, so no."

"Good." The ghost of a smile graced her lips, and she tilted her head back towards the stars. "Because I was right. I'm not apologizing for it."

Their breathing was harsh in the darkness, mingling together in little puffs of steam. If Lily closed her eyes, she could imagine that they went all the way up to the stars. Perhaps they would reach Annie and Molly, floating up to the heavens and beyond-

"Is it true, what you said?" Rose asked softly. "Did you really hold her while she-" Her breath caught. "Did you hold Molly while she died?"

"Yes." Lily exhaled a long puff of steam. "I did."

Rose sighed. "Did she- I mean, was it alright? Was she in pain?"

"Only a little." Lily's voice was a whisper, though it seemed louder than that in the night. "She died to save me, you know; jumped in front of some darts. She protected me right until the end."

"Sounds exactly like her," Rose agreed softly.

"I just miss her so much." Lily felt like she was choking, but she continued on anyways. "It's ridiculous because I didn't even see her that often anyways, but now that's she gone, I can just _feel it_ like this hole in my chest and- Merlin_, _not again!" Lily felt her eyes begin to sting, and she sat up abruptly. Hot tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. She rubbed at them furiously, letting out a growl of frustration. "I'm so sick of crying."

Rose simply watched her for a moment. Lily's breath felt like it was caught in her chest, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to stop her voice from hitching. After what felt like forever, Rose sat up as well, pulling Lily into her arms.

"I know, Lily. Me too."

"It just feels like-" She broke off, searching for how best to phrase it. "Everybody who's _good_ and _pure_ always has the worst things happen to them."

"Yeah." Rose sighed. "I heard about Talc. You feel sorry for him, don't you?"

"You don't?" Lily shifted in her cousin's arms to look at her in surprise. "He embodies everything that the entire world aspires to be, and he was dealt the worst hand of them all. Don't you think that's a little unjust?"

"Of course it is," Rose said calmly. "Nobody deserves something like that, least of all Talc. But if anybody can handle it, Lily, it's him."

"He'll never be able to see again," Lily said softly. "He'll never be able to watch the sun set, or the stars come up. He won't be able to see his children's faces. His wife's face."

"Somehow," Rose said quietly. "I think he's already seen it."

The two girls sat in silence for a while. Rose stroked her hair methodically, expertly, as Lily was certain she had done countless other times for Lucy or Hugo, if they, too, had needed it. Gradually, Lily felt her breathing return to normal. Embarrassed, she pulled away from Rose's embrace and swiped at her eyes once more. Something like a laugh escaped her.

"You know, I'm ruining my reputation tonight as the brave Gryffindor." She smiled bitterly through watery eyes. "I've never felt so cowardly."

She expected Rose to nod, or joke, but instead, her cousin merely studied her with a calculating eye. "Is that so? Well, if it helps," she offered, "I don't think I've ever seen you so brave."

Lily sniffled, jumping up to her feet. "Rose?"

"Yes?"

"Could you- can you help me with something?" She hesitated. "It's sort of for Molly. It's for the rest of us too, though."

"Okay." Rose stood as well, brushing the excess dirt from her jeans. "What can I do?"

Lily bit her lip. "Cast a diffendo charm, just there." She indicated the plot of dirt with her index finger. "Or any spell, really, so long as it creates a ditch. It doesn't have to be pretty."

Rose hesitated, as if she wanted to ask more, then nodded. She leveled her wand at the ground before muttering, "_Confringo_."

A shallow layer of dirt flew up from the earth, and despite Lily's casual attitude towards the task, it was perfect. The hole was exactly circular, roughly two feet in depth and a foot wide. Rose looked to her.

"Will that work?"

"Like a charm." With surprisingly steady hands, Lily withdrew the locket from the pocket of her robes, letting the moonlight reflect off of it. Rose paled.

"Is that-?"

"Yeah." Lily held it a good distance away from her. "Zeek used it to kill Molly. He would have killed Scorpius too, but I- er, he didn't, anyways."

To her relief, Rose merely nodded. "You're going to bury it?"

"It's the only way to be rid of it." Lily squatted down, pounding the pendant forcefully into the dirt. Her own vehemanence surprised her, but once she started, she found she couldn't stop. "I owe it to-" _Pound_. "-Molly and-" _Pound. _"-you and-" _Pound_. "-everyone else, to deal with it."

"Why?"

"Because." Lily looked up in surprise. "Dad was right about that. It's my fault that Zeek had it in the first place. I was the one to lose it in Knockturn Alley, wasn't I?"

Rose looked anguished. "Lily, no."

"It's true." Lily drove the metal necklace home, standing so that she could squish it into the dirt with the toe of her boot. "My fault. Not as much as our parents, maybe, but still my fault."

"You really are an idiot," Rose sighed. "None of this was your fault. And honestly, it wasn't truly our parents either. The only person at fault for what happened to Molly is dead right now, and it will do no good to blame yourself."

Some truth sparked in her words, though Lily ignored it. "Can't you see Rose? I need _someone_ to blame! Someone has to be punished and- and pay the price for what they did! We can't just close our eyes and pretend that nothing ever happened."

"Nothing's going to bring her back, Lily," Rose said quietly. "I know that's hard to see right now, but eventually you'll realize that. Time will heal everything: even that earth patch."

Lily glanced down at the ground, unawares that she had filled it back up with dirt. She quickly stepped back, moving so that she stood beside Rose again. "You think so?"

"I know so," Rose affirmed, squeezing her hand tightly. "And we'll wait it out together."

o.O.o

Lily hadn't meant to fall asleep, but when she rubbed her bleary eyes, she was still sitting in the middle of the make-shift pitch. Someone had covered her with a blanket - likely Rose, considering the brilliant quality of the heating charms - and a pillow was tucked under her head. She yawned, blinking sleepily. The dawn's first rays of light were creeping over the horizon.

"You're awake."

Her stomach flip-flopped, and she rolled over to see Scorpius looking down at her, his blue eyes as equally sleepy as her own. His blonde hair was mussed as if he, too, had slept outside, and his shirt was crinkled. Lily felt a jolt go through her as she realized that he must have stayed outside with her all night.

"You didn't have to-"

"Yes, I did." He kissed her temple, brushing some of the hair out of her face. "You look like shit, Potter."

Despite herself, Lily laughed. "Well, you aren't exactly looking your finest either."

"I'm always at my finest!"

Lily smirked. "You have grass stains all over your shirt, Malfoy."

"Really?" He unbuttoned the top part, peering at the white fabric curiously. "I don't see anything."

"That's because there's nothing there." Lily shifted over so that her head was resting on his lap, and she smiled up at him impishly. "I just wanted to see you with your shirt off."

He laughed at that, his eyes crinkling at the corners. It was such a familiar gesture, so heart-achingly commonplace, that Lily felt her heart falter. Scorpius must have seen her change in expression, because he sighed.

"I suppose we should just talk about it, yeah?"

And they did. Lily talked for hours about Lucy and her possession, and Zeek's betrayal, and Molly's words as she died in her arms. She talked about Talc's blindness and her fight with her father, and she talked about the burial of the locket and how, even now, some sick, twisted part of her wished that everyone that night in a mask had died.

Only when Scorpius flinched did Lily realize that she had just included his father. "Oh, bullocks." She sat up abruptly, cupping his face in her hands. "Sorry! Sorry, I am such an idiot, I have no idea what I was thinking. Of course I don't wish that your father was dead - Scorpius, of course not, I-"

"It's alright." Scorpius smiled, though it was strained. "I'm certain that I could give you a list of people that do. Numerically, it would be well into the hundreds."

"Is he-" Lily broke off, wondering how best to phrase it. "He's in Azkaban."

Scorpius nodded. "Yes."

"Are you alright?" She searched his face, trying to strip down his walls with her eyes. "I understand how it feels to be angry with your father and still love him at the same time."

"I don't know if I love him." Scorpius hesitated, running a hand through his hair. "It's complicated. How can you love a part of you? I mean, do you love your hand? No. But it has always been there, and if it was gone, you would miss it."

Lily put a bracing hand on his knee. "You're going to be alright. I'll make sure of it."

"Will you?" His eyes were suddenly sad. "I watched you kill him, Lily. The look on your face when you pointed your wand at Zeek, and he fell... it was like you were going to fall apart, right before my very eyes." He drew a labored breath. "We're broken toys, Lily. The both of us."

"That's not true." Lily shook her head. "We just happen to have more rust than most. But we also have one another, don't we?"

"Yes." He breathed out again, and this time it was lighter. "We do."

They sat side-by-side for a moment, watching the sun make its journey higher and higher into the sky. The first birds were singing in the trees, and a slight breeze ruffled her hair. Lily could hear the beginnings of dishes clattering inside the Burrow.

"You know, I sort of understand why they didn't tell us," she said softly. "Once you say something aloud, it makes it more real. They were all just scared, in the end."

Scorpius studied her carefully. "Were you scared?"

"Only of losing all of you," Lily said measuredly, echoing the words of another, wiser girl. "Death is nothing to be scared of, but not living? That's what terrifies me."

Scorpius gave her a sideways glance. "When did you become so clever?"

"Since I took the advice of a Ravenclaw." Lily smiled, meeting his eyes. "And since I only just figured out what she meant."

His hand idly played with a strand of red in the sun's rays, and when he looked up, his eyes were blazing. "It's exactly like the flower," he murmured. "_Lilium Ignis_. Your hair is like fire, Lily."

She studied him for a moment, her eyes drinking in the sight of this beautiful boy before her. His eyes were aglow with life, and in the early morning light, she could see the start of bruises on his cheeks. She pressed her lips to each one carefully, stopping by his ear. "Kiss me," she whispered.

Scorpius's lips brushed the top of head hesitantly at first, and then moved down to her cheek, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. Their lips met, careful and slow, and it reminded her of their first kiss in the garden. His mouth was steady and comforting, reminding her that he was the boy who had held her together through it all, patiently listening to her every word. It was full of promises of new beginnings. His mouth was soft and forgiving under hers, and he tasted like buttery caramel and strawberries on warm summer days. With one hand, Lily cupped the back of his neck, pulling him gently closer. His hands were soothing on her waist.

"We did it," he murmured. "Both of us are here, and now. Together."

"I know." She smiled against his neck. "And I intend to keep it that way. What do you say to the idea of starting our lives today?"

He grinned. "I can think of nothing better."

o.O.o

A/N: It's one of your last chances to leave a review, so please do! Stay tuned for the epilogue.


	34. Epilogue

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it; all of it belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling_

_A/N: Make sure to read my note at the end!_

o.O.o

_Ten Years Later_

o.O.o

The water down by the pier was chiller than she had expected, and Lily wrapped her scarf more securely around her neck. The reds and golds intricately woven in stood out in stark contrast to the grey of the morning mist; lazy gulls circled above the Thames river, diving occasionally to prod at a fish. Lily smiled, hopping up on the stone railing so that her legs dangled over the edge.

There was a sudden loud _crack_, and Lily turned around just in time to see a blonde man appear, his cheeks already flushed from cold. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"You realize we're in the middle of muggle London, right?"

Scorpius waved a dismissive hand. "This area's practically abandoned. Besides, I would have been late." He swung his legs over the stone barricade as well, knocking her shoulder with his own. Despite herself, Lily smiled.

"Thanks for coming."

He nodded, his eyes focused on the horizon where the grey clouds were thickest. "Of course." He turned to look at her. "Do you want to go now, then?"

"Yes, please." She grinned. "But first..."

Scorpius's face turned mischevious, and his brilliant smile matched her own. His arms wrapped around her, encircling her in warmth. Even now, Lily could feel the familiar sensation of falling in her lower belly as their lips met. She clung to him dizzily as hot blood pumped through her veins, flooding her stomach with fire. Lily could taste pumpkin juice and chocolate frogs on his tongue, which would have been pleasant under the circumstances, but as it was, she pulled back with a frown.

"You've been at Hugo's again, haven't you?" she asked exasperatedly. "I swear, the two of you are joined at the hip! And even though I repeatedly tell him to stop feeding you chocolate, because then you're not hungry until well past noon, he just never lis- _mmm_."

She sighed deeply as he kissed her again, his mouth soft and warm beneath her own. She let it go on for a moment, lost in the sensation of falling, before an ounce of self-respect niggled its way into her brain and she pushed roughly at his shoulders. "That's not fair! I can't remember what I was saying now."

His eyes were bright with amusement. "That could be an early sign of dementia, you know."

"Oh, shove off," she said, laughing. She broke away from the circle of his arms, opting to grab his hand instead. With an almighty tug, she pulled him off of the stone wall and on to the little pathway that curved down the hill, grinning as he stumbled to find his bearings. She couldn't help but notice that Scorpius's palms were calloused and warm under hers, as familiar as her own. Lily smiled as she thought of what a younger her might say if she could have seen the two of them now.

"What is it?" Scorpius demanded, matching her own goofy smile. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"I'm not!" Lily smothered a giggle with her free hand. "Well, a little. It's not that funny, really, but I was thinking about what we might have said if we knew things were going to end up this way. You know." She lifted their entwined hands for emphasis. "Like this." Scorpius's smile grew wider.

"Now that would have been a sight to see." He sounded almost disappointed. "You would have blown up half the castle."

"You have no faith in me," she accused. "It most definitely would have been the whole thing." They walked in silence for a moment, connected through the warmth of their hands. Scorpius eventually slid his arm round her waist, pulling her close to him.

"Have you been by Lucy and Talc's lately?" he asked curiously. "Hugo said that he went yesterday, with Al and Porella."

Lily shook her head. "I'm going over as soon as we're done today."

"Good choice," Scorpius remarked, smirking. "It sounds like Albus and Porella have been thrashing about like a pair of eels. They can't seem to keep their hands off of one another."

"Scorpius!" Lily admonished, torn between laughing and scolding him. "They just came back from their honeymoon; they're _supposed_ to be mucking about."

"Still." Scorpius pulled a disgusted face. "It's disturbing to see your best mate stick his tongue down someone's throat. Sort of puts a damper on all of those chocolate frogs."

"Good. Maybe I'll have to ask him to do it more often."

"Oh, please, no." Scorpius wrinkled his nose. "Anymore and the two of them will become permanently attached at the mouth."

"You're probably right," Lily admitted, tilting her head to look up at him. "And Merlin only knows, we only need one new baby in the family right now."

Scorpius's face softened. "Did you hear what Lucy and Talc named her?"

"Yeah." Lily's voice was barely audible, and she cleared her throat before trying again. "Yes, I did."

Scorpius squeezed her hand, but said no more. Lily filled the silence by chattering on about Rose's latest book deal, and how Hugo had been offered to play Keeper for the Tornadoes, which Scorpius confessed that he already knew about, and Lily thwacked him on the shoulder and told him to pretend that he didn't.

Eventually, the two of them reached a set of tall, black iron gates, easily twice as tall and three times as wide as the two of them. Behind them, the mist was even thicker, and she could hear the call of crows in the distance. Lily took a deep breath, resting her forehead against the cool metal. Scorpius put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay to do this?"

"Yeah." Lily straightened her back, setting her shoulders determinedly. She pushed open the gates. "Let's go."

Both of them slipped through the gates, trading the hard cement road for a wide open expanse of grass. Lily was hardly aware of where she was going, but her feet trudged on automatically, carrying her up a grassy bank and to the base of an oak tree. She sunk to her knees, her eyes locked on a slab of grey stone. Slowly, her fingers trembling, Lily traced the words cut into the rock.

_Molly Weasley. _

_A daughter, a friend, and a fighter. _

_Animo Forti Presumpti_

Her mouth felt chalky, and she could feel Scorpius's eyes resting heavily on her back. Unceremoniously, she conjured a bouquet of flowers, laying them gently on the grave. Then, she pulled a picture from her back pocket.

"Hi, Mols." It came out as a whisper, her words snatched up by the fog. She tried again, louder this time. "I know I haven't been by in a while, but things have been a little mad. Mum and Dad are busy as ever, although Mum still manages to find time to send me regular letters requesting grandchildren. Three times a week, in fact." Her hands tightened on the hem of her pull. "Still, I would have found time, only Albus and Porella were on their honeymoon, and somebody had to make sure that James didn't throw a party at their flat while they were gone."

"Anyways." She stared hard at the stone, willing her voice to sound steady. "Louis is doing great; he's finally managed to put his broom design on the market, and it's a smashing success, of course. He, er, he hasn't met anybody yet. Nobody compared to you, at least, but he's working on it."

She drew a shaky breath. "But that's not why I came here. I actually came here because... well, because Lucy had her child." Lily's smile was genuine, though she could feel tears gathering in her eyes. "A beautiful baby girl. I brought a photo for you, so that you could see her, too. Just like I promised."

Her hands fisted around the photo tightly, and she stuck it to the grave with a charm. A wide-eyed baby blinked sleepily back at her, her little cheeks flushed with life. Lily nodded, rising to her feet and backing up a few steps. She felt Scorpius take her hand again, and she smiled gratefully up at him. They turned to go.

"Oh!" Lily looked back towards the grave, raising her voice slightly. "One more thing. Her name is Molly."

And with that, the two of them walked down the hill, through the gates, and back into the quiet morning.

o.O.o

_Author's Note: _

Wow! Well, I'm almost in shock that I was able to finish it! That would be the end, everybody. Fini! I just want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who read this entire thing. If I'm being honest, I didn't think that anybody would. But some of you did. And that's amazing!

I really wish that I could have written more! In an ideal world, there would have been scenes between Lucy and Talc, and an entire chapter dedicated to Molly and Louis. There would have been an apology between Lily and her parents! But the story felt like it should end, and so it did.

Now please, _please_ leave a review! You have just read an entire story, people! I want to hear your thoughts on it!

Out of ideas about what to tell me? Maybe start with...

-your favorite scene

-your least favorite/most loved character(s)

-the line(s) that stuck out the most for you

-if you smiled stupidly at the computer/cried at any point

Thank-you!


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